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Serbian teachers honoured for innovative lessons on democracy and human rights

Five teachers have been recognised for their outstanding lessons plans promoting democratic culture and innovative teaching methods, following the National Competition “Competences for Democratic Culture and the Cross-Curricular Approach – Application in Practice”.

The winners were selected by an expert jury from the Ministry of Education and the Institute for Improvement of Education. The jury’s decision was extremely difficult due to the high number of outstanding applications.

The authors of five selected lesson plans will have the opportunity to attend specialised training in the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, which will take place on 4 and 5 March 2026. They will learn more about the importance of Human Rights Education and develop skills to successfully apply practical tools and methodologies and act as multipliers in their schools and local communities.

Additionally, their works will be published on the specialised portal on Democratic Culture in Education of the Institute for Improvement of Education as part of a database of best practices in the field of education. Apart from the five selected works, more than 50 others will be included in the AI-powered database.

The winners are:

Sladjana Jovic, Chemistry teacher, Svetozar Markovic gymnasium, Nis
Maja Keskinov, Philosophy teacher, 14th Belgrade gymnasium, Belgrade
Jasna Kapelan, English language teacher, Elementary school “Vuk Karadzic”, Backa Palanka
Olgica Spasojevic, Serbian Language and Literature teacher, Elementary school “Petar Lekovic”, Pozega
Marina Lazic, Physics teacher, Elementary school “Veljko Dugosevic, Turija
Warm congratulations are extended to the winners, and to all those who took part in the competition. The level of participation is a testament to the level of interest and commitment to competences for democratic culture in schools and communities in Serbia.

The action “Quality education for all” is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.

Belgrade 1 December 2025
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Quality education for all 


What is the goal?


► To foster quality education by supporting schools, their communities and relevant education institutions to fight discrimination in education through the implementation of the Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture.
► To improve the quality of education by fostering a democratic culture in the formal education system through applying anti-discriminatory approaches based on Council of Europe standards and practices.
Who benefits from the project?
► Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Institute for Improvement of Education and other education institutions.
► 60 pilot schools including teachers and school management, students, parents and their communities.
► Serbian society who will enjoy the benefits of an education system enriched by a democratic culture.
How will the project work?
► Through grassroots and policy level interventions.
► With targeted capacity building, awareness-raising, tailor-made school projects and joint school activities, working group meetings, peer exchanges.
► It builds on the results of co-operation in the field of “Fostering a democratic school culture” under HF Phase I (2016-2019).


What do we expect to achieve?


► Main actors in education will promote democratic culture as a key element of quality education.
► Relevant educational institutions will have developed tools to foster quality education for all learners.
► Schools will have identified opportunities to foster quality education for all learners enriched by a democratic school culture and inclusive education for all.


How much will it cost?


► The total budget of the Action is 900,000 EUR.
► The budget allocated to the overall Horizontal Facility programme amounts to ca. 41 Million EUR (85% funded by the European Union, 15% by the Council of Europe).


How to get more information?


► Education Department, Directorate of Democratic Citizenship and Participation, DGII – Directorate General of Democracy, [email protected], website: www.coe.int/education
► Horizontal Facility website: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/horizontal-facility/home
► Marija Simić, Horizontal Facility Communication Officer, [email protected], +381 63 601 337
Besnik Baka, Horizontal Facility Communication Officer, [email protected], +355 69 217 8430

HORIZONTAL FACILITY II