Project “Raising Human Rights Awareness among School Teachers and Students” was logical continuity of the work that the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights has started in 2001 – education of teachers and other multipliers in the issues related to human rights – by organising series of seminars in four different regions in Serbia. Education in the field of human rights had been at a very low level in Serbia, but after the changes in 2000 the Ministry of Education of Serbia introducing the reform in education field respecting high European standards taking into account that human rights play very important role. The program was defined on the basis of the evaluations of the participants from the previous projects, the process of reforms of educational system in Serbia and the emphasis was given to the implementation of human rights workshops and discussions as a tool for the future classes. The programs consisted of lectures, which were followed by workshops, where the topic of the lecture was discussed and elaborated from the participants point of view. Panel discussions were a chance for the students to take active part in dialogue with the teachers regarding the problems and potential improvement of the educational programs in schools. Series of five seminars resulted in educating 121 teachers and 67 students. The human rights manual for teachers of the Belgrade Centre was evaluated as very useful and comprehensible.
“You are Right!” booklet, practical guide of the Serbian legal system as it relates to the rights and duties of young citizens. Possible ways to implement the booklet in school programs was discussed in a joint session by students and teachers. Further student-teacher dialogue was achieved through workshops. Lecturers were experts and associates of the Belgrade Centre with previous experience in similar educational activities.
