What school books teach the youngest?

Banja Luka, 10 May 2013

What do gender-sensitive school’s books mean? What is the task of a mother, feeder and governess and is she entitled to other and different roles? How can we make a step forward from stereotype roles in which mother cooks and father brings money?  Not only about disputable contents of school’s books for lower primary school grades but gender relations of power in school as institution will be talked by Lamija Begagić, editor-in-chief of children magazines “Palčić” and ”Kolibrić” at a reading session o Thursday May 16th, 2013 at 6 p.m. in gallery “Boris Smoje”,   Radićeva 11 street in Sarajevo.

The reading session is part of the Women’s Side of Politics project, implemented by Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banjaluka,  to affirm the concept of gender equality in BiH.

What do gender-sensitive school’s books mean? What is the task of a mother, feeder and governess and is she entitled to other and different roles? How can we make a step forward from stereotype roles in which mother cooks and father brings money? Not only about disputable contents of school’s books for lower primary school grades but gender relations of power in school as institution will be talked by Lamija Begagić, editor-in-chief of children magazines “Palčić” and ”Kolibrić” at a reading session o Thursday May 16th, 2013 at 6 p.m. in gallery “Boris Smoje”, Radićeva 11 street in Sarajevo.

The reading session is part of the Women’s Side of Politics project, implemented by Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banjaluka,  to affirm the concept of gender equality in BiH.

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IT training was held in Tuzla  

Tuzla, 7 – 8 May 2013

''Use of New Information – Communication Technologies” was the topic of a two-day  IT training by Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banjaluka and CURE Foundation on 7-8 May in Tuzla.

The training was targeted to civil society organizations and local media to advance their knowledge about new IT technologies such as setting and maintaining web sites and its linkage with social networks.

Also, this was the opportunity for NGOs and local media representatives to gain better understanding and exchange experience aimed at joint actions in promoting and protecting human rights in the future.

This activity is a part of the X-press project whose aim is to impact to relevant authorities to sort out burning issues of different marginalized and vulnerable groups in BiH by joint actions of NGOs in a systematic and continuous manner.

After holding all six trainings, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banjaluka and CURE Foundation will make an open call for small grants of NGOs and the media joint projects which should result in increasing visibility of marginalized groups in our society and specific progress in practice.

The activity is a part of the X-press project funded by the European Union.

''Use of New Information – Communication Technologies” was the topic of a two-day IT training by Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banjaluka and CURE Foundation on 7-8 May in Tuzla.

The training was targeted to civil society organizations and local media to advance their knowledge about new IT technologies such as setting and maintaining web sites and its linkage with social networks.

Also, this was the opportunity for NGOs and local media representatives to gain better understanding and exchange experience aimed at joint actions in promoting and protecting human rights in the future.  

This activity is a part of the X-press project whose aim is to impact to relevant authorities to sort out burning issues of different marginalized and vulnerable groups in BiH by joint actions of NGOs in a systematic and continuous manner.

After holding all six trainings, Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banjaluka and CURE Foundation will make an open call for small grants of NGOs and the media joint projects which should result in increasing visibility of marginalized groups in our society and specific progress in practice.

The activity is a part of the X-press project funded by the European Union.

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World Press Freedom Day

Banja Luka, 3 May 2013

At a brunch with journalists and mini debate on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day in the Banjaluka Club of Journalists and BH Association of Journalists, the public was warned that journalist profession is one of the riskiest in most developed countries with a special status in some western countries. Journalists in Republic of Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina must show more solidarity in tackle for their rights. Journalism is a very difficult and underestimated profession in RS and BiH requiring to consider the initiative for journalists to get benefited service accrual, journalists in Banjaluka estimated today.

Benefited service accrual is needed due to difficulty and nature of job the journalists do. Statistic data prove lots of pressures and attacks on journalists and their short life expectancy in RS and BiH- it was stressed by Siniša Vukelić, president of the Banjaluka Club of Journalists.

Journalists made an appeal to officials and institutions in Banjaluka, RS and BiH to show more respect of journalists’ working hours when scheduling conferences, events and statements at  arranged time.

Also, highest officials must in practice show they respect journalists instead of insulting and approaching them on personal basis refusing to answer questions which gives a negative pattern others to follow. It is proved by shocking detail from research conducted by the BH Association of Journalists with support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation that every fifth BiH citizen thinks it is justified to hit a journalist.

With a minute of silence journalists in the Banjaluka Club of Journalists paid a tribute to their colleague, who died too soon, Goran Mihajlović, the editor-in-chief of daily magazine “Press”.

“Brunch of journalists” is one of the activities that Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly implements with CURE Foundation within the “X-press II” project funded by the EU.

At a brunch with journalists and mini debate on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day in the Banjaluka Club of Journalists and BH Association of Journalists, the public was warned that journalist profession is one of the riskiest in most developed countries with a special status in some western countries. Journalists in Republic of Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina must show more solidarity in tackle for their rights. Journalism is a very difficult and underestimated profession in RS and BiH requiring to consider the initiative for journalists to get benefited service accrual, journalists in Banjaluka estimated today.

Benefited service accrual is needed due to difficulty and nature of job the journalists do. Statistic data prove lots of pressures and attacks on journalists and their short life expectancy in RS and BiH - it was stressed by Siniša Vukelić, president of the Banjaluka Club of Journalists.

Journalists made an appeal to officials and institutions in Banjaluka, RS and BiH to show more respect of journalists’ working hours when scheduling conferences, events and statements at arranged time.

Also, highest officials must in practice show they respect journalists instead of insulting and approaching them on personal basis refusing to answer questions which gives a negative pattern others to follow. It is proved by shocking detail from research conducted by the BH Association of Journalists with support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation that every fifth BiH citizen thinks it is justified to hit a journalist.

With a minute of silence journalists in the Banjaluka Club of Journalists paid a tribute to their colleague, who died too soon, Goran Mihajlović, the editor-in-chief of daily magazine “Press”.

“Brunch of journalists” is one of the activities that Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly implements with CURE Foundation within the “X-press II” project funded by the EU.

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Women’s movement in and around us

Banja Luka/Sarajevo, 26 April 2013

Twelfth reading session, held on Thursday April the 25th in Sarajevo gallery “Boris Smoje” was dedicated to development of women’s movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The lecturer Zlatiborka Popov Momčinović, MA from Faculty of Philosophy Istočno Sarajevo university talked about it throughout history from antic Greece in which the woman did not exist as an individual because only the man citizen was entitled to be active in politics and society.  By creating a modern society from the French revolution, the women’s movement was in fact a movement inside movement, a resistance from discrimination within resistance. In the twentieth century when women formally achieved the rights, discrimination nevertheless continues but in a more subtle way. Based on research that Popov Momčinović conducted in BiH, participants discussed whether women’s movement exists at all. The conclusion was that the movement is in existence as much as there is solidarity amongst organized women in all parts of BiH whose aim is to empower and make women active in whatever they do.  Also, it was talked about proportion 5:1 between men and women in politics whilst this proportion in civil society is reverse. It tells us that women and women’s movement are alternative and contra-cultural power that may bring changes in the society in the future but only if there is massiveness and dedication that a movement should have. It is important to say that women in BiH, except resisting to gender-based discrimination do not get trapped by ethnical divisions and discriminatory policies which is a successful resistance to very bleak political life in the state. This is the power of women, in this collectivity and collective within chaotic system in our state.

In the end of the session, participants marked Orange Day – Day against Violence on Women aimed to solidarity and support to all women who suffered some sort of violence.

Twelfth reading session, held on Thursday April the 25th in Sarajevo gallery “Boris Smoje” was dedicated to development of women’s movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The lecturer Zlatiborka Popov Momčinović, MA from Faculty of Philosophy Istočno Sarajevo university talked about it throughout history from antic Greece in which the woman did not exist as an individual because only the man citizen was entitled to be active in politics and society. By creating a modern society from the French revolution, the women’s movement was in fact a movement inside movement, a resistance from discrimination within resistance. In the twentieth century when women formally achieved the rights, discrimination nevertheless continues but in a more subtle way. Based on research that Popov Momčinović conducted in BiH, participants discussed whether women’s movement exists at all. The conclusion was that the movement is in existence as much as there is solidarity amongst organized women in all parts of BiH whose aim is to empower and make women active in whatever they do.  Also, it was talked about proportion 5:1 between men and women in politics whilst this proportion in civil society is reverse. It tells us that women and women’s movement are alternative and contra-cultural power that may bring changes in the society in the future but only if there is massiveness and dedication that a movement should have. It is important to say that women in BiH, except resisting to gender-based discrimination do not get trapped by ethnical divisions and discriminatory policies which is a successful resistance to very bleak political life in the state. This is the power of women, in this collectivity and collective within chaotic system in our state.

In the end of the session, participants marked Orange Day – Day against Violence on Women aimed to solidarity and support to all women who suffered some sort of violence.

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