On Friday, 17 November 2017, a Conference on Democratic School Culture will take place at the Metropol Palace Hotel in Belgrade. The event is part of the “Fostering a Democratic School Culture” project implemented under the larger EU – Council of Europe programme ‘Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey’. 

The project involves 20 elementary, secondary, VET, and schools for children with special educational needs from all parts of Serbia that have all committed to amend their teaching practices and apply anti-discriminatory approaches based on the Council of Europe standards and practices.

The primary purpose of the Conference is to familiarise the schools and other key partners of the project with the Council of Europe Model of Competences for Democratic Culture. Participants will talk about the development of democracy and human rights at schools, share best practices in inclusive education, and learn how to implement the Model into their teaching practice. They will also discuss ways to introduce specific anti-discrimination measures, develop capacities to remove prejudices and discriminatory approaches towards vulnerable groups and to address incidences of violence.

The Conference will be attended by around 140 participants from pilot schools, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, State Institutes for Education, civil society organisations and other relevant partners.

Speakers at the opening session will include Ms Anamarija Viček, State Secretary, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development, Mr Nicolas Bizel, Head of Operations at the EU Delegation to Serbia; Ms Irina Sahakyan Vetter, Deputy Head of Office, Council of Europe.

The Conference will start at 10:30 on Friday, 17 November 2017, at the Metropol Palace Hotel in Belgrade.

Press statements will be given upon request.

Contact for media registrations and inquiries:  Kristijan Rajković,   063/639-281,   [email protected]

Background information on the Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey

On 11 April 2016, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, and the European Union’s Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, announced a new co-operation initiative aimed at supporting South-East Europe and Turkey in their efforts to comply with European standards. The initiative is called the European Union/Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey (Horizontal Facility). It is a three-year programme (May 2016 – May 2019), focusing on three themes: ensuring justice, fighting economic crime as well as combating discrimination and protecting the rights of vulnerable groups. It has a budget of 25 million euros, of which 20 million euros has been provided by the European Union and 5 million euros by the Council of Europe.  Through the Horizontal Facility, the European Union and the Council of Europe will assist beneficiaries in South-East Europe and Turkey to comply with Council of Europe standards and the European Union acquis, through a complementary two-fold approach of technical co-operation and the provision of expertise. The Horizontal Facility relies on the Council of Europe’s unique working methods, whereby tailor-made technical co-operation activities are based on conclusions and recommendations of the Council of Europe’s monitoring bodies, which highlight areas where improvements are needed in legislation and policies of the beneficiaries to comply with the Organisation’s standards.

 More information on the Horizontal Facility is available here.