Klara Vrbic from Mostar, a fourth-grader at the Ivan GundulicElementary School on the west side of the city, where the Croat population lives, planted a tree of friendship with her peers in the schoolyard on the east side of the city, which can be said to be divided 27 years after the war.
“I met many good people and friends thanks to this project,” Klara told Radio Free Europe (RFE).
The planting of the Friendship Tree was realized by two schools, one of which teaches in Croatian, and the other in Bosnian from different parts of the city.
The tree of friendship was planted on June 3rd in the yard of the Fourth Primary School in Mostar, through a joint project called integrative education, which was organized by a non-governmental organization originating from Norway, Nansen Dialogue Center (NDC) Mostar, after such a tree was planted in front of the Ivan Gundulic Primary School last year.
Project Manager of the NDC Mostar Vernes Voloder, noted that through the implementation of projects, he advocated the introduction of different values in the education system in BiHfor years.
“We think that the three education systems that emerged as a result of the war do not contribute to the peace-building process in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH),” Voloder explained.
He emphasized that the consequence of the division in education in BiH and Mostar is the fact that children do not know each other, that teachers organize joint activities from time to time, but that street violence occurs occasionally, while there is a high degree of misunderstanding and intolerance.
“What we want to do is to build bridges between all primary schools in the city of Mostar and beyond by implementing these joint educational programs,” Voloder said, RSE writes.
E.Dz.
