REGIONAL CONFERENCE "INFORMAL EDUCATION IN BALKANS" OPENED IN SARAJEVO

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (September 22,2007) – The first regional conference entitled “Informal Education in the Balkans” opened in Sarajevo. Over 50 participants from the 6 regional countries participated.

Representatives of Bosnia,Slovenia,Macedonia,Croatia,Montenegro and Serbia are participating; as well as the NGOs representatives and educational experts.

The conference is aimed to initiate regional cooperation in the field of informal education, and to present the examples of a good praxis from the countries of the region, EU and other countries of the world.

Aida Daguda, President of the Center for Promotion of Civic Society, stated that Bosnia is a lot behind in the sector of informal education, compared to other countries, One must keep in mind the fact that formal education in Bosnia is at a very low level of organization.

She emphasized that the informal education in Bosnia is realized in a narrow circle, mainly by the NGO representatives. The only way to improve the situation is to implement a joint platform which would be developed by the NGOs, governmental institutions and authority representatives.

Slovenia and Croatia are the countries that stand out as the best examples of the informal education.

Joze Gornik, President of the Slovenian Centre for Information stated that there is a small booklet in Slovenia that every 14-year-old receives and chooses all kinds of informal education courses.

Situation is quite the same in Croatia. Gordana Forcic, President of the SMART organization emphasized. There is the so-called “volunteer booklet” that has not yet been made official. However, they can be helpful in the employment processes.

The Sarajevo Centre for Promotion of Civil Society organized the conference.