unicef / spis newsletter

Table of ConTenTs:

• InterviewswithMinisterscoveringthefieldofsocialprotectionandinclusionofchildren

• 10thsessionoftheSPISManagementBoard

• PreparatoryworkshopsfortherepresentativesofmunicipalitiesandBDinthethirdphaseoftheSPISProject

• JointvisitoftheEUDelegationtoBiHandUNICEFtotheprojectactivities

• SkillsdevelopmentworkshopsfortherepresentativesoftheSPISMunicipalitiesandBD

• Workshopsforchildren

• MeettheSPISProgramimplementingpartners

• ListofActivities

PROJEKAT FINANSIRA

EVROPSKA UNIJA

NEWSLETTER

“This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.”

February–October2012

EnhancingtheSocialProtectionandInclusionSystemforChildren

The Project “Enhancing the Social Protection and Inclusion System for Children” is a multi-year, multi-disciplinary program of support to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European integration in the areas of overall social protection, social inclusion and child rights. The Programme target groups are policy makers and professionals who have been implementing the reform in the social protection system, as well as vulnerable groups of children and their families. The European Union has been funding this project since 2008 under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) with EUR 4.1 million, with a view to helping develop a system that will ensure an adequate social protection policy and social protection and inclusion for children and their families.

The implementation of the project involves all competent ministries, as well as number of partners from the non-governmental sector and civil society. In the Phase III of the SPIS Programme (2011-2012) targeted locations are the municipalities of Čelinac, Derventa, Gacko, Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje, Kupres, Mrkonjić Grad, Posušje, Prnjavor, Tešanj, Velika Kladuša and Brčko District BiH.

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for entering data in the database. Based on the situation analysis, a decision was made for the special focus project to focus on strengthening the capacities of the Center for Social Work to provide services to children and youth with physical and mental developmental difficulties and their parents. The project will provide specific equipment to the Center for Social Work and the new activities will include a speech therapist working with children through triage and individual treatment. Also planned are workshops for special needs children and counseling for their parents. “This project is important because the planned activities are implemented in cooperation with the “Sv.Vračevi” Health Center, the education-rehabilitation center and primary schools in Čelinac, Jošavka and Stara Dubrava, as well as “Neven” Kindergarten and the Municipality of Čelinac, which strengthens cross-sectoral cooperation,” says Granedina Radivojević, adding that a round table is planned in this Municipality at the end of the Project, which will include all actors in child and social protection in this Municipality.

The Municipality of Posušje has been working on a similar special focus project and they are also pleased with the fact that SPIS brought social protection actors together. They are particularly looking forward to the continuation of these joint activities after the completion of the Project in the form of the Municipal Commission, along with the signing of a protocol on cooperation between institutions - social protection actors.

“We are working together on the project as representatives of institutions. When the protocol is eventually signed, the institutions will undertake to continue cooperating no matter the person in office, which is a very useful segment of the project”, says Marinka Jukić, Chairperson of the Municipal Management Board in Posušje and Director of the Center for Social Work. She added that, once the situation analysis had been completed, the Management Board decided to improve services of the Center for Social Work and to establish special department for therapy, workshops and speech therapy for children with developmental difficulties. According to

ACTORSINSOCIALPROTECTIONSYSTEMIN10MUNICIPALITIESANDBRčkODISTRICTCREATESAFEENVIRONMENTFOREVERYCHILD

In the towns of Čelinac, Derventa, Gacko, Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje, Kupres, Mrkonjić Grad, Posušje, Prnjavor, Tešanj, Velika Kladuša and in Brčko District, Municipal Management Boards have developed Action Plans for social protection of children, which will ultimately be adopted by Municipal Councils and the Government of Brčko District. These action plans also include special focus projects to address selected priority issues. The Municipal Management Boards are expected to transform into permanent Municipal Commissions in charge of the child protection that will continue coordination of activities involving social protection and inclusion of children. Institutions that are represented in the Municipal Management Boards will sign memorandums of cooperation setting forth obligations of all parties in the social protection and inclusion of children.

“We are very pleased with the project. I would like to emphasize better cooperation in addressing issues and sharing information and experience, which will contribute to a more efficient provision of child and social protection services,” says Granedina Radivojević, Chairperson of the SPIS Municipal Management Board in Čelinac and the Chairwoman of the Čelinac Municipal Assembly.

The Čelinac Management Board has prepared the situation analysis of social protection and inclusion of children in Čelinac Municipality and the monitoring of enrollment of children in primary schools started. Information has been collected since April. UNICEF has supplied a PC with pre-installed software, and an officer has been trained

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available data, there are around 50 potential beneficiaries in the Municipality. “Our special focus project aims to provide adequate support to children who need such support the most. We intend to purchase speech therapy equipment and hire a speech therapist, and round up a team of experts. Children will be able to visit them at certain times during the week, so that parents will not have to take their children to Mostar or all the way to Split, as they are doing now,” says MMB member, Ms. Rafaela Galić.

The Municipality of Tešanj concluded that the Center for Social Work already provided a great deal of care to special needs children through numerous activities, including a Daycare Center for children with special needs. In terms of the main priorities, the MMB identified children with behavioral disorders, children from dysfunctional families and children at risk of violence.

“Absenteeism, peer violence and misbehavior are the main problems we have identified. Our special focus project is targeted at children with risk-taking behavior. We plan to set up a mobile team of professionals that will work directly with these children and their parents in primary schools. The other part of the project will be a family counseling office at the Center for Social Work, and there will also be workshops for children with risk-taking behavior,” says Sabrija Kavazović, Director of the Tešanj Center for Social Work and Chairperson of the Project Management Board.

The Municipality of Kupres will provide support for children with special needs because its Management Board has reached a conclusion that this is the segment where the needs are the greatest.

“We will focus on services for special needs children and their parents, by providing professional support from a speech therapist, special educator, pedagogue and psychologist, either in the form of workshops or individual work with children. The Municipality of Kupres lacks enough

professional staff to help children with special needs, so our goal is to provide the best professional services to this group by hiring various professionals. Children with special needs and their parents are not offered any activities, which is why we hope that this will help children socialize as much as possible and will also help parents to share knowledge and experience. One of the activities within the SPIS Project is creating a database of all children aged 0-6, with most data already entered,” says Lucija Musić, MMB member and pedagogue in the “Fra Miroslava Džaje” Primary School in Kupres. She added that as part of the SPIS Project they also worked with a PAR group with 11 secondary school students and 11 primary school students:

“We have already had four workshops, and we plan to deliver the fifth which will be the last one during this cycle. At the very end, we plan to have a meeting with the PAR support group. With respect to any dissatisfaction with anything or anyone, there is none at the moment; everything is running according to the schedule and we are pleased for now,” says Lucija Musić.

An analysis done by the Prnjavor Municipal Management Board identified three socially excluded groups of children: children with developmental difficulties, educationally neglected children and children from dysfunctional families. “As a priority group, we have chosen children with developmental difficulties, and the chosen activity is starting a Daycare Center for them. In our municipality, there are currently 15 children who have not been placed in institutions or covered by any form of educational work, but they will now be included. The Daycare Center will serve to ensure participation of children and youth as well as their parents, and we except to have a positive impact on reducing the number of socially excluded children and youth,” says Dragana Šćepović, Chairperson of the Prnjavor Management Board and Director of the Center for Social Work.

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INTERVIEW:SREDOJENOVIć,MINISTERBIHMINISTRYOFCIVILAFFAIRS

“SPIS is a unique cross-sectoral project”

What is your assessment of the current results of the sPIs program?

With the full support of UNICEF and the European Union, the SPIS program has served to initiate processes for enhancing the social protection and inclusion system at all levels of government, bearing in mind in particular the protection of children as the most vulnerable population group in Bosnia and Herzegovina. SPIS has ensured networking among competent institutions, and it has also mobilized the capacities and introduced a methodology in the approach to children that is based on the respect for human rights and on participation. This program places special emphasis on the sectors of family and child protection, health and education, which in turns encourages a stronger cross-sectoral cooperation in order to address issues concerning children in a quicker and more effective manner.

The SPIS Program has produced and approved different analytical documents that showed us the key challenges in the field of social care of children. Based on these documents, all competent institutions can now focus their future activities on improving the position of children in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Studies have shown that the situation in this area is serious and that everyone should make every effort within their respective responsibilities to improve this situation. Much effort has been invested into designing and implementing activities that will produce visible results, an example of which are the early childhood development centers which provide in a single place the social services

needed by the most vulnerable population group in BiH - children. The value of the SPIS Program is further reflected in the fact that we now have a shared vision with respect to child protection, as seen in the recently approved Framework Policy for the Improvement of Early Childhood Development, which is a document with clear objectives and directions of action in this area.

What is your assessment of the role of the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs in the SPIS Program?

The BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs chairs the Program Management Board, which is an umbrella body responsible for approving directions and implementation activities of the SPIS Program. As this is an inter-sectoral project, and it is unique as such in the entire BiH, the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs has coordinated all activities with the health sector, education sector and social protection sector, both within the Ministry and with the entity ministries that are responsible for these areas.

What activities have you planned for 2012?

The BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs plans to organize meetings of the Management Board and several thematic professional meetings with representatives of responsible entity ministries in order to strengthen cross-sectoral dialogue in social protection and inclusion of children. We will also host a Conference on social protection and inclusion of children, to which we will welcome both regional and European Union experts as well as our local professionals so as to make recommendations on how to enhance the social protection and inclusion system for children in BiH.

What are the major challenges to the full realization of social protection and inclusion for every child?

Key to improving the protection of rights and status of children is a continuous and dedicated work with all social actors that make decisions that affect children. Politicians, educators, teachers, parents, children - all of us should be guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which BiH endorsed and incorporated its provisions in its laws, and the Convention should serve as a reminder of what we all must do in order to ensure all rights for every child.

Systemic actions should be primarily directed towards the most vulnerable groups of children: children with developmental difficulties, children of unemployed parents, children of parents who are social welfare beneficiaries, children of single parents, children in large families, children placed in foster families or social care institutions, and children from ethnic minorities. We hope that UNICEF and the Delegation of the European Union can recognize the importance of the processes that have been initiated and will support the efforts to improve the situation in social protection and inclusion of children in the country. At a time when poverty is the major cause of deprivation in child development and education -- when around 66 % families with three or more children and 32 % families with two children live in poverty -- programs aimed at enhancing the overall social protection and inclusion of children are an indispensable contribution to the social development of the country.

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INTERVIEW:DAMIRLJUBIć,MINISTERBIHMINISTRYFORHUMANRIGHTSANDREFUGEES

“sPIs has made progress in addressing key obstacles”WhatisyourassessmentofthecurrentresultsoftheSPISprogram?

Given the objective of the program, which is to improve the social protection and inclusion system for children at all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and bearing in mind the complexity of the target area and the complex political situation in BiH, we can say that the SPIS Program has offered some very innovative solutions in the overall social protection. SPIS Program’s positive contribution is now visible at different levels, because its concept is to contribute to the strengthening of state and entity level institutions responsible for this area through development of policies and strategies in these state and entity level institutions, while on the other hand it has a very important role at local level.

WhatisyourassessmentoftheroleoftheBiHMinistryforHumanRightsandRefugeesintheSPISProgram?

The Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees has been involved for a couple of years and has been making significant contributions to achieving the objectives set under the SPIS Program. In this regard, the BiH Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees is a very important link in the chain of social protection and inclusion system for children in BiH. Our coordinating role in the SPIS Program allowed us to contribute to the development of different levels of social protection that fall under the umbrella of the protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms. Taking into account the current activities, published documents, guidelines, analyses, etc. that have been produced within this Program, we can say that the role of the BiH Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees in the SPIS Program has been more than satisfactory.


The Annual Work Plan for 2012, which was signed by the BiH Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees, provides for

delivery of technical assistance in order to develop integrated policies and strategies to address the issue of exclusion and vulnerability of families and to increase their access to basic social services. In accordance with the Work Plan and our obligations in 2012, the BiH Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees will make a Situation Analysis on socially excluded groups of children in BiH and an Analysis of the legal framework, including harmonization with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and harmonization of legal provisions regarding child vulnerability. In addition, the Ministry will support development of a Situation Analysis in the area of social, family and child protection in BiH for 2012, and will also provide support to the development of an Analysis of the compatibility of the system and standards in social protection and inclusion of children in BiH with international requirements.


The major challenges we have met and continue to meet in achieving social protection and inclusion, and in realizing the rights of every child, are the complex structure of authorities in BiH and poverty, or rather the overall social and economic situation in the country. The SPIS Program has recognized these issues in its early stages, but the problem still remains because it does not only concern the social protection system, but also other spheres of social life of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We can say today that the SPIS Program has made certain progress in addressing key obstacles encountered during the implementation of this Program.

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INTERVIEW:RANkOŠkRBIćPHD,MINISTERREPUBLIkASRPSkAMINISTRYOFHEALTHANDSOCIALPROTECTION

What is your assessment of the role of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Health and Social Protection and what will be done during 2012?

Republika Srpska Ministry of Health and Social Protection got fully involved in the implementation of this program. The Ministry is a coordination body for the implementation of this program, but at same time it is also the main implementing agency for the activities that are taking place in the territory of the Republika Srpska. The SPIS Program follows this Ministry’s strategic directions in the health care and social protection for children. It should be noted that with the support of the SPIS Program, the Ministry has made several very important strategic documents that determine the further course of development in this area. In this regard, my estimate is that this Ministry has a critical role in ensuring the success of this program, in particular with respect to ensuring its sustainability.


The most common reasons are the problems of economic strength of a society, but there is also a series of reasons that are related to traditional, cultural, religious and sometimes value-related concepts practiced by certain societies. This is probably one of the reasons that so many children live in poverty in the world today. Unfortunately, throughout history, there have always been some children across the globe that remained invisible to social support systems. Our society continuously strives to increase resources for supporting children and their families. Government institutions and civic and private initiatives have taken a series of activities to improve the position of and social support to children in the Rеpublika Srpska. Of course, this is not enough. We are pleased with what has been done so far, but we are sure we can do much better. We need to invest more in support systems for children and their parents. Republika Srpska will continue its vigorous efforts in this area.

INTERVIEW:DAMIRMAŠIć,MINISTERFEDERALMINISTRYOFEDUCATIONANDSCIENCE

What is your assessment of the current results of the SPIS program and what are the activities planned for 2012?

In terms of concrete results of the Project implementation at municipal level, we should note the integration of data on the status of children; establishment of a database on children and monitoring of child rights in cooperation with the non-governmental sector; strengthening of professional resources; increase in service efficiency and capacity by establishing child friendly schools, including increased capacity for educational inclusion of children with special needs and a system for promoting early childhood development.

The SPIS Project has made a particularly significant contribution in piloting positive inclusion practices in selected local communities and in making suggestions on how to improve legislation, statistical system and institutional capacities that will allow for adequate and quality services and for greater availability of services in education, health care and social protection for children in BiH. For 2012, in accordance with the priority courses of action defined in the FBIH Early Childhood Development Policy, we will take part in activities that empower the family and encourage responsible and healthy parenting and also in the implementation of the curriculum for early detection and intervention, focusing especially on increasing the coverage and access to preschool education for all children, including an individual approach and continuous monitoring of child development with emphasis on the importance of healthy nutrition, healthy habits and safe environments for children.


In education, it is particularly important to increase the preschool education coverage in accordance with individual needs of each child, and to make preschool education available to all children. However, the full realization of social protection and inclusion for every child is possible only through integrated inter-sectoral action, and the main precondition for this is to improve the existing policy framework and international cooperation among all relevant actors at local, entity and state levels.

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INTERVIEW:VJEkOSLAVčAMBER,MINISTERFEDERALMINISTRYOFLABORANDSOCIALPOLICY


Through the SPIS Program, BiH has received an innovative approach to the improvement of social protection and inclusion of the most vulnerable group in our society - children. The SPIS Program provides opportunities to improve all spheres of social protection: an important activity we are implementing this year is the harmonization of laws in the area of social protection. The Federation Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is currently working on a revision of the Law on Fundamentals of Social Protection, which will be divided into four different laws. This is one of the initial steps both in the reform of social protection in FBiH and in strengthening the social protection system and the protection of children and families in general.


The full achievement of equal rights for every child is a long-term process, which requires joint action by all stakeholders at all levels of government in order to contribute to the full realization of social protection and inclusion of children. This process requires certain financial and human resources. The FMoLSP will continue providing full support to the implementation of the SPIS Program. We pin all our hopes on finding new donor funding so that the Program can be scaled-up to include as many municipalities as possible and thus to cover as many children and their families as possible.

INTERVIEW:PROFRUSMIRMESIHOVIćPHD,MINISTERFEDERALMINISTRYOFHEALTH


The social protection and inclusion system has been enhanced through this cooperation, primarily through development of policies and documents aimed at improving the living conditions for children and their families. The Program has been ambitiously designed, with a diverse and broad scope of impact.


The Federation Ministry of Health participates in the development of the Strategy for the Improvement of Early Childhood Development, which is a result of the FBIH Policy for the Improvement of Early Childhood Development approved by the FBiH Government. Since the Federation Ministry of Health has signed the Protocol on Cooperation for improving early childhood development, many activities will be implemented in accordance with the Protocol. In addition, the Federation Ministry of Health will take active part in the planned entity- and state-level consultative workshops, which are relevant for the program, and will coordinate with Cantonal Ministries of Health regarding the Program and will also provide professional and any other assistance to municipal authorities to ensure that the Program implementation is a success.


The process of full realization of protection and inclusion of children requires many activities to be implemented as well as an additional time frame for action, which in turn requires financial resources and additional human resources. We also hope that, after the Program “Enhancing the Social Protection and Inclusion System for Children in BiH” - SPIS has been completed, UNICEF will continue providing technical and financial support so that we can achieve our common goal. Given that the actions taken to date by the FBiH Government have demonstrated a high degree of sensitivity to these issues, the Federation Ministry of Health will continue directing its activities toward ensuring health and better future for all children, despite limited resources.

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PREPARATORYWORkSHOPSFORREPRESENTATIVESOFTHENEWMUNICIPALITIES

Sarajevo, 27 February 2012 - Representatives of the ten new target municipalities and Brčko District have gathered for two preparatory workshops in order to become more familiar with the concept of social protection and inclusion and as well as objectives, structure, methodology, partners and expected results of the EU-funded project “Enhancing the Social Protection and Inclusion System for Children in BiH”.

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Preparatory workshops in Teslić on 23rd and 24th February for municipalities from Republika Srpska and Brčko District, and in Sarajevo on 27th and 28th February for the municipalities from Federation of BiH, served to present examples of good practices from the target municipalities in the previous Project phase (Bileća, Laktaši, Novi Grad Sarajevo and Novi Travnik). The working groups produced recommendations for key issues and agreed on further activities in the Program implementation at all levels.

THE10THSESSIONOFTHESPISMANAGEMENTBOARD

On 12 April 2012, the Management Board of the Program “Enhancing the Social Protection and Inclusion System for Children in BiH - SPIS”, chaired by the BiH Minister of Civil Affairs, Mr. Sredoje Nović, held its 10th meeting with the participation of key government representatives, as well as observers representing UNICEF and the Delegation of the European Union to BiH as the main donor.

The Management Board approved the Operational Plan for Project implementation in accordance with the Project time frame. SPIS Management Board members discussed main recommendations resulting from preparatory entity-level workshops held in February with representatives of the ten new municipalities and Brčko District, reaching a conclusion that the SPIS promotional video should also be distributed to municipalities that are not part of the SPIS Program so that positive experience and practices can encourage municipal authorities to implement the SPIS integrated model of child protection. The Management Board was informed of the main recommendations from the Monitoring Report for the two previous phases of the SPIS Program and of the options for further funding of Program activities. Management Board members agreed that it was necessary to consider reallocation of available IPA resources to this program, because this program is key for supporting the most vulnerable group in Bosnia and Herzegovina – children.

The SPIS Management Board ensures the flow of information among various partners and coordination of activities at state, entity and Brčko District levels. Each year, the SPIS Management Board submits an annual report to the BiH Council of Ministers for approval. In addition to the BiH Minister of Civil Affairs, the meeting was attended by , Mr Vjekoslav Čamber, Minister of Labor and Social Policy of the Federation of BiH; Ms Ljerka Marić, Director of the BiH Directorate for Economic Planning; Ms Florence Bauer, Head of the UNICEF Office in BiH; Ms Saliha Đuderija, Assistant Minister for human rights at the BiH Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees; Mr. Ljubo Lepir, Assistant Minister for social protection at the Republika Srpska Ministry of Labor and Social Protection; and Ms Natalia Dianiskova as an observer representing the Delegation of the European Union in BiH.

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VISITSTOPROJECTACTIVITIES

Representative of the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ms. Natalia Dianiskova, Head of Operations for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross-Border Cooperation and Ms. Anne-Claire Dufay, UNICEF BiH Deputy Representative, visited the Municipality of Tešanj on 22 May 2012. During the visit, they met with the Tešanj Municipality Mayor, Mr. Fuad Šišić, took part in the meeting with representatives of the Municipal Management Board for social protection and inclusion, and attended a budget meeting. The delegation also spent some time with children, school staff and NGO partners during a workshop on non-violent conflict resolution, which was followed by a visit to the workshop for children on one-minute films.

Ambassador Peter Sorensen, the Head of the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina and EU Special Representative, together with Ms Florence Bauer, UNICEF Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, visited primary school “Džemaludin Čaušević” and Integrated Early Childhood development center in Novi Grad Municipality in Sarajevo on 20 February. “I hope that children whom I met today will become citizens of the European Union one day. I am glad to have seen firsthand what difference the support of the European Union makes in the lives of children and their families, especially vulnerable groups.” said Ambassador Sorensen.

With the support of EU and UNICEF, among others, within the initiative ‘child friendly schools’, “Džemaludin Čaušević” primary school became a model of inclusive education of Roma children as well as children with developmental difficulties, through quality education based on methodology centered around the needs of the child, with the focus on professional development of the teacher and creation of a stimulating environment conducive to learning needs of every child. Integrated center for early childhood development was established in 2009 with the help of EU funds with the aim to support children leaving in suburban communities providing them equal access to preschool, health and social protection services. The Center offers an innovative model of integrated services for children and parents which should improve health, nutrition and early childhood development of children up to 10 years of age, with special focus on children under 3 years of age. “During the visit we could see that parents, caregivers and children appreciate the Center which allows them to learn, receive health services and social protection services adapted to children, all in one place. Home visits are also part of the Center’s services aiming to cover also the most vulnerable families in suburbs, including the Roma families. Centers like these are an efficient method of ensuring the social protection of the most vulnerable families.” said Ms. Florence Bauer, UNICEF BiH Representative.

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Representatives of the Posušje MMB, psychologist Rafaela Galić and social pedagogue Ivana Bago, also expressed their great satisfaction with the training. In addition to learning many useful things about writing project proposals, the training will also help them better understand the principles of the SPIS project in general, because they have never had an opportunity to be a part of such a comprehensive project before. “I am very pleased and this is something we needed. Our MMB has come to the phase when we needed to start working on special focus projects, and this has come at just the right moment,” says Rafaela Galić. Ivana Bago added that the MMB was particularly impressed by the concept of UNICEF’s early childhood development centers. “We would like to see an Early Childhood Development Center in our municipality too, and this will probably be our special focus project. We plan to visit the Center in Kiseljak and also to contact other municipalities to hear about their experience and apply it in our municipality, which has a truly great need for such facility because we have a large number of children who have next to nothing in terms of such services,” says Ivana Bago.

TRAININGONWRITINGPROJECTAPPLICATIONSFORREPRESENTATIVESOFSPISMUNICIPALITIES

The two-day training on how to write project applications was held in Sarajevo in April. This training has contributed to the strengthening the capacity of dozens of professionals working in the social protection and inclusion system for children.

“The training is good and useful and it will definitely help us write up a special focus project that we intend to nominate as a Management Board, and it will also help us in other activities in our municipality. A situation analysis showed that our municipality needs a daycare center for children with developmental difficulties and we believe that these activities will provide an opportunity to make this happen,” says Milan Vojvodić, an expert associate in the Municipality of Prnjavor and a member on the SPIS Municipal Management Board (MMB) in this municipality.

Also pleased with the training was Emira Veljačić, Director of the Velika Kladuša Center for Social Work and MMB member:

“This training is a rare opportunity for us to learn about approaches to writing project proposals. I believe that everything we learned here will be useful for writing special focus projects” says Emira Veljančić.

PROFESSIONALCOMMUNICATIONSWORkSHOPSFORMEMBERSOFMUNICIPALMANAGEMENTBOARDS

Two communications workshops for members of the Municipal Management Boards were held in Sarajevo and Laktaši in April 2012. Municipal representatives were able to learn about strategic communication, communication for development, social marketing, public and media relations in a workshop organized by Infohouse NGO. More than fifty participants had the opportunity to hear advice about campaign running; the difference between information campaigns and campaigns aimed at behavior change; PR and its importance, the importance of non-verbal communication; producing good printed material; proper appearance, speech and conduct in a TV show; and the best way to formulate a press release. Seminar participants were also able to ask the well-known TV personality, Aleksandar Hršum, a TV anchor, some practical questions, such as: how to “wrap up” a piece of information to make it interesting to the viewers; what they may ask the reporters and media to do, and what the media may ask of them; and how to prepare one’s statement. Practical exercises with the trainers allowed the participants to dispel any fear of public appearances on TV shows and in open dialogue. The participants agreed that this type of strengthening of communication skills was necessary and more than useful for any professional who works in the social protection sector.

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CHILDWORkSHOPS

One-minute film workshop in Mrkonjić Grad: How did Vesna’s bunny become a movie star?In a classroom of the “Petar Kočić” Primary School in Mrkonjić Grad, a bunny of eight-grader Vesna Jaguzović is starring in her film “Friendship”. Vesna is shooting this film with her friends in the OneMinutesJr workshop. This activity is being implemented in 10 BiH municipalities by Genesis Project Association from Banja Luka. OneMinutesJr is a network made up of the European Cultural Foundation and the Sadberg Institute, with UNICEF providing financial support to the network and assisting in its operation. The workshops resulted in one-minute films created by youths aged 12-20, through which they expressed their opinions, views, ideas or raised their voices about their own problems or problems of their peers. One of the ten films that were made in Derventa ended up among the top five films in a global competition. In addition, during a five-day workshop members of the Genesis Project were trained to be OneMinutes trainers, and they will now conduct workshops in the 10 SPIS municipalities to help children make more than 50 short films.

“Children design everything by themselves; they devise ideas of how their films should look like and what kind of a message they want to send. We just help them in technical terms, by showing them the basics of shooting and editing, but most of the work is done by them, and they do a great job,” Genesis Project’s trainer Draško Stojčić expressed his satisfaction. The children are clearly pleased that they have an opportunity to work with a real camera and they realize their ideas in ways they had never been able to do before. The girl Vesna, our hero from the beginning of this text, who brought her pet bunny to the school, told us that her short film was about friendship and that it showed that even a human and a rabbit could be friends. “At first glance, it is just an ordinary rabbit, with long ears, short tail and soft fur. But trust me, the fact that he is my friend makes him very special to me,” says Vesna, talking to us and to the viewers of her film about a friendship between her and her bunny. Friendship is also discussed in the film “The Only Son” by Vladan Boroja and Minja Čulić.

“This is a story about two inseparable friends who have known each other since early childhood and about the fact that nothing could spoil their friendship,” Vladan tells us. While in this film he is working “strictly according to Vladan’s scenario,” Minja is also the author of one of the films that talks about students who receive preferential treatment by

teachers and are ignored by their peers because of this. He has chosen an interesting way to tell the story through an animation with ping-pong balls. “The original idea was somewhat different, but it turned out well in the end. I am annoyed by teachers’ favorites. I know a few of them and I wanted to talk about this,” Minja tells us while we are watching his unfinished film. A film by Dajana Kopuz talks about growing up and about changes.

“The story about me is told by my sneakers. It all starts with a pair of sneakers, old ones, and then new sneakers arrive and continue the story,” Dajana tells us. Her friend Ivana Popadić has made a short film in which her school friend plays the Mayor of Mrkonjić Grad and talks about all the things her town needs in order to be better for children.

Jovana Rajak says she decided to use her one minute to talk about the problem of peer violence. “There are always those who want to stand above others by using violence, and they are no better or more worthy than anyone else. In my film, I am showing this bully as a small figurine, with the rest of us surrounding him,” Jovana tells us about her film.

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Life Told Within a MinuteInstead of teasing their classmate for wearing a torn shirt, at one moment all children in the classroom stand up, tearing their shirts and they are all equal again. This is a summary of the one-minute film by a seventh-grade student of the “19. April” Primary School in Derventa, who took part in the five-day “OneMinutesJr” workshop. , Chris Schuepp, who was running similar workshops across the globe before coming to Derventa, with energetic Nadine Hottenrott and the newly-trained “OneMinutes” trainers from the “Genesis Project” Association of Banja Luka help Sara and other workshop participants tell their one-minute story in a motion picture.

“I used this example to show we are all equal no matter what we look like or what kind of clothes we war,” Sara told us during a shooting break, while Nadine was giving final instructions about the shooting of the last scene. During the workshop, children helped each other tell their stories, acted in the films and brainstormed to make their final stories as good as possible. One of the actors in Sara’s film is Dražen Škrga, an eighth grader. Among the many issues faced by his peers, one of the largest problems he saw was the issue of street litter, and he discussed this issue in his one-minute piece. A teenager thinking about litter? “Yes. It bothers me that our town is dirty, and if this film of mine will help in any way, I will be very glad. I wanted to point out this issue in a film about a man fighting for a cleaner town,” says Dražen.

His classmate Olja Milinković has been wondering for years about why there is no lighting along the three-kilometer road she takes on her way home after the afternoon classes.

“It’s dark and there are stray dogs, and I am scared going home after school. This is why I decided to highlight this problem in my film, because all children who have to walk unlit roads on their way home share my problem,” says Olja. Other films made during the five-day workshop are no less interesting than the ones we described, including the choice of subject and the mature approach displayed by children when discussing them. Many have even offered solutions.

“Nadine, Draško from “Genesis” and I are helping them, but what is fascinating is to see their enthusiasm and the way they responded to all of this. I can tell you that at least 80 percent of every film is the work of children themselves. I liked the fact that the topics were diverse, ranging from peer violence, the problem of litter, stray dogs and the lack of lighting, to the story of a boy who showed it was necessary to care for the elderly. They have a good ‘radar’ and are able to detect relevant and interesting topics within social inclusion,” Chris tells us as the final editing of the shooting material is taking place. In addition to outstanding videos for which the children were awarded certificates, the value of the workshop also lies in the fact that new “OneMinutes” trainers have been trained in the “Genesis Project” organization, a longtime partner of UNICEF in BiH. “This means that the end of this workshop does not mean the end of OneMinutesJr in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because we can now continue with the support by UNICEF and the European Union. We have learned a lot from Chris, and we now look forward to putting this into practice in the future,” says Draško Stojčić of “Genesis Project”.

(Text and photo: Almir Panjeta, reporter)

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Fighting prejudice against „hard rock fans”OneMinutes Jr workshops continue in the “9. Septembar” Primary School in Medakovo near Tešanj.

“I am making a film about prejudice against my peers who listen to hard rock. In my film I want to show my peers that there is nothing wrong with someone listening to some heavy music, and my friends from a local metal band will appear in the film,” says Dženeta Agić, a student in the “9. Septembar” Primary School.

A film by her friend Elma Korajlić deals with peer violence and shows that violence should not be countered with violence. She also plays the lead in the film: “The heroine of the film is practicing martial arts and could easily beat her bullies, but she does not want to do this and solves the problem in another way,” Elma explains.

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“Non-violent conflict resolution” workshops: Children learning to accept diversityIn the ten municipalities a series of workshops about non-violent conflict resolution are organized for children Workshops in which children work with trainers from the “Genesis Project” Association and learn about communication skills and fighting stereotypes and prejudice, have been held, among other places, in the “Miloš Dujić” Primary School in Čelinac.

“What children learn in these workshops is to accept diversity, to find proper resolutions to conflicts and to respond in the best possible way and by their actions prevent conflicts and peer violence,” says Saša Šarić of “Genesis Project.” The workshops include groups of children aged 12-15, with group members being selected in cooperation with school principals, teachers and school pedagogues. Šarić explains that children with leadership qualities are chosen, who can then transfer the knowledge to their friends in the school.

While we are talking to Saša, sitting at a desk are Anes, Svetozar, Damjan, Stefan, Barbara, Ivana, Sara, Tina, Nikolina and another Stefan, doing a group listening exercise. The exercise consists of 15 questions, the last being a trick question, which they discuss with the other trainer, Goran Radić. This is followed by a game involving the reading of a newspaper article, which is then retold orally, from one student to the next one. Some facts get lost in the process and the children can easily see how rumors come about. “We like this method of work; we could do this all the time. We learn how to avoid conflict, but also how conflict occurs, and why,” says Tina. What annoys her the most, she says, is that children who seek help of adults when something bad happens in school, are labeled “traitors” by their peers.

“What we learn here is that when we have a problem that we cannot resolve by ourselves, the best thing to do is seek help from adults,” says Tina, while Sara, Stefan and others add that they believe they will be able to discuss everything they learned here with their peers. Meanwhile, Goran moves on to the next task during which children need to write a short piece on one of the three topics: Why is the playground important in my life; Why do I like school; What would we change in our town. We could write a decent book about the last one,” interjects one of the children, triggering laughter within the group. We leave them to continue working on their themes and to discuss them later on.

(Text and photo: Almir Panjeta, reporter)

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PRESENTATIONOFPARTNERSIbHIThe Project “Introducing the Social Protection and Inclusion Model at Municipal Level” implemented by the Initiative for Better and Humane Inclusion (IBHI) since 2008 is one of the components of the program for enhancing the social protection and inclusion of children in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The overall goal of this project cooperation is contribution to the SPIS Program in the realization of its two goals at local level:SPISGoal3 – Developing and implementing a municipal model for social protection and inclusion of children in the 11 target municipalities;SPISGoal4 – Strengthening capacities and institutional coordination and communication mechanisms between social service providers and decision-making bodies at local level.

INOVAThe role of INNOVA Management Consulting within the SPIS Project concerns two tasks. The first one is to provide technical assistance in the application of tools for budgeting for children in the selected institutions. These institutions are the Republika Srpska Ministry of Education and Culture, Center for Social Work in the Brčko District, Municipality of Novi Grad Sarajevo and Center for Social Work in Sanski Most. The other task concerns introductory training in program budgeting and budgeting for children in the newly-selected municipalities. These newly-selected municipalities are Velika Kladuša, Kupres, Gornji Vakuf/Uskoplje, Mrkonjić Grad, Derventa, Čelinac, Tešanj, Prnjavor, Posušje, Gacko and Brčko District. In addition to municipalities, the Project also includes civil society organizations active in these municipalities. The initial activities are focused on raising awareness about the issues of budgeting for children, while practical training in these areas for the staff in selected institutions will ensure in a simple and friendly way the long-term application of the elements of program budgeting, gender-sensitive budgeting and budgeting for children.

“United Civic Actions Association” – DUGAThe main role of “DUGA” is to deliver teacher training in inclusion in education in the following SPIS locations: Velika Kladuša, Mrkonjić Grad, Gornji Vakuf – Uskoplje, Čelinac, Prnjavor and Derventa and to cooperate with families and schools. The biggest achievements to date include building knowledge and competencies of counselors (10 in total) in the field of inclusive education, awareness raising among representatives of local communities regarding inclusion and better awareness of contemporary trends in education, as well as increasing professional competencies in work with children with special educational needs (103 teachers in total). Five schools were equipped with didactic materials required for work of inclusive classes (manuals, didactic materials, etc.).

Center for Educational Initiatives Step by StepThe role of the CEI Step by Step in the SPIS Project is to implement the program entitled Schools as Communities – Building Partnership Between School, Parents and Community in 62 primary schools in 11 communities in BiH. “The greatest success in the previous phase of the SPIS Project would be networking of schools in within and across communities. This has resulted in the creation of a Facebook group “Child Friendly School” which now has 521 members and people are still joining.” say representatives of the CEI Step by Step.

“Genesis Project” BanjalukaThe greatest success in the previous phase of the SPIS Project is the realization of 10 Action Plans (proposed by Participatory Action Groups) in the 10 “old” SPIS Municipalities. These Action Plans were very diverse and they reflected the needs of local communities. In Genesis they believe that “long-term sustainability of the program and development of partnerships after the Project is completed depends on the active role of all participants, school management, teachers, assistants, parents and children.” They cite successful adoption of the methodology for producing one-minute films by youth as the greatest success during the last quarter. Through this activity, Genesis Project has been training children on ways to design short films. In a series of workshops, children learn how to develop scenarios, how to use video editing technology and how to produce their own one-minute films.

InfoHoUseWithin the SPIS Project, INFOHOUSE will hold 11 workshops in 11 target SPIS municipalities for boys and girls (some 500 girls and boys aged 13-15) on the topic of intercultural dialogue and ways in which children can communicate for social change. The aim of these workshops is to develop skills among children so that they can better identify their similarities and differences, understand and respect diversity and develop mutual tolerance. One of the more important roles of INFOHOUSE within the SPIS Project is a media campaign and promotion of completed project activities that will be realized through radio shows (which will include radio games for children), as well as a web campaign that will take place at both local and state levels.

“Budimo aktivni” NGONon-governmental organization “Budimo aktivni” of Sarajevo implements a sub-project called PAR – Participatory Action Research. This sub-project is implemented in a total of 11 locations, with “Budimo aktivni” NGO covering the following 5 locations: Brčko, Gacko, Kupres, Posušje and Tešanj. The overall goal of this sub-project is to increase participation – inclusion of children and youth in decision making processes in their local communities. “We expect greater participation of children in decision-making in the local community which means that problems that children bring into focus will be addressed and included in plans for their resolution.” say representatives of this organization.

“Svetionik” NGOThe main role of NGO “Svetionik” is to implement PAR and DevInfo components in the following SPIS project locations: Velika Kladuša, Mrkonjić Grad, Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje, Čelinac, Prnjavor and Derventa and to provide assistance in implementation of Action Plans for resolution of priority issues/problems of children and youth in these municipalities. Organization’s biggest achievement to date is the change of awareness of children and youth, their parents and teachers and government and institutional representatives regarding the need for active involvement of children in addressing the issues/problems that they consider a priority in exercising their fundamental rights. “We have ensured active participation of children and youth in decision making process regarding issues that affect them. We have also promoted such participation in the community, along with creation of mechanisms for participation at the local level by decision makers”, NGO “Svjetionik” informs.

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PLANOFACTIVITIES

12/12/2011 Management Board meeting, official inception of the Phase III of the Program (Banja Luka)

02/23 – 02/24 – Preparatory workshops for municipal representatives from the Republika Srpska and Brčko District – new project phase (Teslić)

02/27 – 02/28 – Preparatory workshops for municipal representatives from the Federation of BiH (Sarajevo)

April – May – Child workshops (GENESIS): Peaceful Conflict Resolution (all municipalities)

April – June – Child workshops (GENESIS): Producing One-Minute Films for Youth (all municipalities)

04/12 – 04/13 – Workshops for representatives of Municipal Management Boards (INFOHOUSE): “Communication for Social Change” (Sarajevo)

04/19 – 04/20 Workshops for representatives of Municipal Management Boards (INFOHOUSE): “Communication for Social Change” (Laktaši)

04/26 – 04/27 Workshop for representatives of Municipal Management Boards (IBHI) “Writing Project Applications” (Sarajevo)

06/25 – Presentation of the document “Framework Policy for Improving Early Childhood Development of Children in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Sarajevo

06/25 – 06/26 – Training “Research and Analytical Methods” (IBHI) Vlašić, (all FBiH municipalities)

06/18 – 06/19 Training “Research and Analytical Methods” (IBHI) Jahorina (all RS municipalities) July – August – Signing of Action Plan Implementation Agreements (all municipalities)

July – August – Training for civil society organizations (INNOVA) “Basics of Budgeting, Budget Analysis Program, Budgeting for Children and Budget Advocacy” (all municipalities)

July – August Training for finance officers (INNOVA) in municipalities of Tešanj and Velika Kladuša

08/30 – 08/31 Workshop (INFOHOUSE) on intercultural dialogue and intercultural communication for boys and girls – Sarajevo

September – October – Workshops (INFOHOUSE) with children about “Peaceful Conflict Resolution” and “One-Minute Films Production” (all municipalities)

September – December – Training (INNOVA) “On-the-job Training” for policy development officers and finance officers (all municipalities)

September – October – Trainings on budgeting for children (INNOVA) for civil society organizations (all municipalities)

September – October – Two-day seminar (StepbyStep): “Schools as communities – building partnerships among schools, parents and community” (all municipalities)

09/20 – 09/21 – Training (IBHI) “Response to Violence against Children” for representatives of municipalities from the Federation of BiH (Mostar)

09/27 – 09/28 Two-day training (IBHI) “Response to Violence against Children” for representatives of municipalities from the RS (Kozara)

September – October Training (DUGA) “Inclusive Education”, Brčko, Velika Kladuša, Kupres, Gornji Vakuf Uskoplje, Posušje, Tešanj

September – October – Workshops (SVETIONIK, BUDIMO AKTIVNI) PAR groups of children (all municipalities)

October – Organizing dialogue (INFOHOUSE) on social inclusion at round tables/open discussions, organizing and holding 11 round tables in all municipalities

October – Public debates (IBHI) on Action Plans 2013-2014 (all municipalities)

October – November – DevInfo training (BUDIMO AKTIVNI, SVETIONIK) for DevInfo managers and data collectors (all municipalities)

December – Adoption of action plans (IBHI) for municipalities

For more information, please contact:

MinistryofCivilAffairsofBosniaandHerzegovinaDunja Šmitran

(033 492 525 and email:[email protected])

MinistryforHumanRightsandRefugeesofBosniaandHerzegovina

Mirza Puzić(033 703 980 and email:[email protected])

MinistryofHealthandSocialWelfareofRepublikaSrpska

Sanja Skenderija and Jelena Kuprešanin(051 339 452 and email: [email protected].

net i [email protected])

MinistryofLabourandSocialProtectionFBiHandMinistryofeducationandscienceFBiH

Edmira Aščić(033 661 782 and email:[email protected])

MinistryofHealthFBiHDženita Hukić


UNICEFSelma Kazić, Social Protection Specialist


COMING IN OUR NEXT ISSUE:

Interviews with competent authorities in the system of social protection and inclusion for children:

• Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska

• Brčko District Government

Topics:

• Budgeting for children: How to make the best of limited resources for the wellbeing of the children?

news:

• Protocol on intersectoral cooperation for early childhood development of children in the Tuzla Canton signed

• Grants to municipalities for social protection and inclusion of the most vulnerable children and families

• Discussions of children and adults: With joined forces to the best decisions for the welfare of children

life stories:

• Children describe life problems in short films

• From the wall of wishes to reality – results of the action

unicef / spis newsletter

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