MONITORING IN BOSNIAN SCHOOLS RELATED TO DISPUTED NAMES AND SYMBOLS CHANGE TO START ON FEBRUARY 11

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (February 8,2008) – In all primary and secondary schools in Bosnia on February 11 a monitoring shall begin which purpose is to register all schools which did not change its inappropriate names or symbols according to the temporary Agreement on compliance with the rights and needs of returnee children regarding the criteria for school names, school symbols and events which was adopted in 2004.

These activities are regulated in the project “Monitoring and analysis of the criteria implementation for school names and symbols” and are implemented by NGO Foundation of Local Democracy from Sarajevo in cooperation with NGOs “Women Association” from Banja Luka, “Terca”, Mostar and “Vesta” from Tuzla.

The project is supported by the Bosnian Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, department ministries, Education sector of Brcko District and cantonal department ministries. They envisaged it as a form of support for the return and integration of returnees in order to secure for the children to fit in as easier as possible in the new or old environment and enable the schooling for all children under the same conditions. The project is financed by European Union.

Monitoring shall last six months and it would consist of taking photographs of schools markings and symbols, as well as opening a web page with full data related to the changes of disputed school names in Bosnia.