“Schools as driving force for democracy”: IIEP participates in the regional conference in Montenegro
The "Quality education for all" action is part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”. The event gathered key education stakeholders from Bosnia and Hercegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro, to explore the implementation of the Council’s Reference Framework for Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) and strategies for fostering integrity within educational environments.
Opening remarks by Anđela Jakšić-Stojanović, Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation, along with Lejla Dervišagić, Head of the Council of Europe Programme Office in Podgorica, and Vesna Atanasova, Head of Unit at the Council of Europe set the stage for discussions on democratic values and education.
Over the following two days, speakers and participants explored strategies to foster an environment of transparency and integrity in schools and shared their experiences of promoting these practices in schools, integrating the RFCDC principles in national curricula, and promoting awareness of environmental issues.
Barbara Santibanez, expert in education policy and citizenship, presented on the implementation of the RFCDC in Council of Europe member states. Jasna Savić and Jelena Stefanović, teachers and RFCDC mentors, emphasised the importance of training, and shared their experience of conducting outreach, dissemination, and training on RFCDC principles in new schools. Sanja Bulat, advisor for the Institute for Education Improvement of Republic of Serbia, then presented the guidelines for integrating RFCDC into national curricula. Finally, Lana Jurko from the Network of Education Policy Centers, discussed education for sustainable development competencies.
Focus was also put on amplifying learners' voices and facilitating inclusive dialogue among participants, in particular by Nedim Krajšnik and Namir Ibra-himović from the Center for Educational Initiatives Step By Step, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
From IIEP-UNESCO, Muriel Poisson, acting head of the Knowledge Management and Mobilization team, presented strategies to involve local stakeholders in school planning and monitoring through open school data, and on promoting the ethics of the teaching profession through codes of conduct.
Discussions and workshops emphasized the practical implementation of democratic values within educational systems, echoing the importance of transparency, integrity, and learner participation. Such initiatives serve as essential steps toward building a more democratic and inclusive society through education.
IIEP’s work on Open School Data and Codes of Conduct.
Poisson’s presentation built on IIEP-UNESCO’s four-year research project on Open School Data, which included desk reviews, field research, and surveys. It was also enriched by IIEP’s research work on Codes of Conduct, and the accompanying Guidelines for the design and effective use of teacher codes of conduct.