On December 10, 2020, on the International Human Rights Day, the Network for Building Peace, despite the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, announced the winners of the Peace Award, and the award ceremony itself was postponed for some safer and happier moments. Since 2020, the Network’s Peace Award bears the name of Goran Bubalo, in memory of a great man, his great merits, selfless work and sharing with which he has indebted us all and built for all of us the path of peace and nonviolence, which we now walk and live and will continue to walk in the future.
The Peace Award is awarded in several categories. This year, a special award/certificate of appreciation was awarded to the Multiethnic Inclusive Kindergarten “Sunčani most” Mostar. On June 3, 2021, the Peace Award “Goran Bubalo” was presented to the Multiethnic Inclusive Kindergarten “Sunčani most” Mostar, in the premises of the kindergarten.
In the City of Mostar, where current policies are exclusive and persistent in their efforts to divide everything on national and religious basis, the Multiethnic Inclusive Kindergarten “Sunčani most” has been trying to unite and connect for 19 years.
The fact is that many bridges in Mostar were destroyed. The Old Bridge on the Neretva (a symbol of the connection between the two river banks and the connection between all people living in Mostar); people of different nationalities and religions fought between each other. Policies of national and religious exclusivity are still in place. In Mostar, these policies are difficult and rarely agreed on.
Although almost 30 years have passed since the beginning of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, joint work between former politically opposed parties at the local level is developing very slowly. Although the visible borders in Mostar have long since disappeared, the polarization at all levels of everyday life and family life is still being felt.
This situation particularly affects children, who grow up in an environment of antagonism and division.
The idea of a unique kindergarten in which all children are equally welcome, regardless of nationality and religion, social status or reduced psychophysical abilities, comes from Mr. Zvonimir Vojtulek-Vojte. This Mostar resident, who has been living and working in Norway for years, believed in the vision that this kind of kindergarten could and must exist in a multiethnic city such as Mostar.
It was a real challenge to implement this project in a post-war, devastated and ethnically divided city.
The multiethnic inclusive kindergarten “Sunčani most” was founded in Mostar in 2002, as a project of the Austrian social non-profit organization “Diakoniewerk”. This is the first inclusive kindergarten in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Children with disabilities as well as children from socio-economically disadvantaged families at that time generally did not have access to regular pre-school institutions. The goal was to improve such a situation.
This kindergarten offers the opportunity for 40 children aged 3 to 6 to attend kindergarten every year. Every year, our program includes 4-5 children with various difficulties as well as 7 children from low-income families, who stay in kindergarten for free.
People with and without developmental disabilities have limited opportunities to meet each other. There are very few opportunities that teach children how to treat each other properly. These “separate worlds” affect the precarious behavior of both parties. People face insecurity and embarrassment. These factors facilitate a mutual decision to continue to avoid each other.
In order to act against this kind of behavior, we need to start teaching our children since early childhood. A special chance for inclusive upbringing of children in kindergarten is that children of kindergarten age have not yet developed any or almost no prejudice.
In addition to the inclusion of children with disabilities, the attempt at multiethnicity is another substantive goal of kindergarten. Tolerance towards other nationalities and religions also without prejudices in childhood. In kindergarten, children learn to have friends from other ethnic groups through play.
By involving parents of children in everyday events in the kindergarten (excursions, visits, events, creative workshops) and adults from different ethnic and religious groups get the opportunity to meet and get to know each other. The former “foreigner” no longer seems threatening.
In this kindergarten, children of different ethnic and religious backgrounds and different talents work, live and learn together.
Engaged educators of Bosniak, Croat and Serb nationality strive every day to overcome obstacles and prejudices towards children with disabilities, as well as cultural, religious and linguistic differences, and they succeed in that!
Forty-two (42) children with various developmental disabilities have so far been included in the Multiethnic Inclusive Kindergarten “Sunčani most” (cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, slow psychomotor development, etc.).
A special target group consists of 7 children who come from low-income families. These children are exempted from paying a monthly fee each year. So far, over one hundred and twenty (120) children from socio-economically disadvantaged families as well as Roma families, have been included in our kindergarten.
The kindergarten, not without reason, has the name “Sunčani brod”. On a symbolic level and in its concrete action, it is a real bridge that connects, unites the inhabitants of Mostar of all nations and all religions, as well as those who do not belong to any majority nation or any majority religion. In the “Sunčani most” there are children from all over Mostar (both the so-called western and the so-called eastern-part families of different peoples and religious communities-as well as those who do not belong to any religious community). Every day, kindergarten teachers visit Mostar (street to street) in their van. They bring the children to kindergarten and then bring them home.
The kindergarten’s work program and its daily implementation confirms the justification of its name; “Sunčani most” – connecting, breaking down existing barriers. So, it has been so far, and they plan to continue their work in the future.
Children are taught that the other and different is a value that should be respected, and not that the other and different should be the subject of something towards which one should have a repulsive and even hostile attitude.
They teach them tolerance, and even more than that: to learn to live not next to each other but with each other. This spirit is felt in the daily work of the kindergarten and they believe that it is a significant contribution of the kindergarten to the construction of one Mostar, different from today’s – better Mostar.
The kindergarten offers that Mostar men and women, on the way to a united Mostar, walk step by step over the “SUNČANI MOST/SUNNY BRIDGE”!
This model of preschool institution makes a significant contribution to tolerance and reconciliation between certain ethnic and religious groups.
Close cooperation between kindergartens and schools is an attempt to enable children with disabilities to successfully transition from kindergarten to primary school, and thus give the opportunity for further “normal” educational path.
They are happy that, on their initiative, following the example of Mostar’s “Sunčani most”, in 2016, in cooperation with the City of Livno, the Multiethnic Inclusive Kindergarten “Sunčani most II” Livno was opened.
Let’s hope that this concept of work will be extended to other cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The message of the director of the Multiethnic Inclusive Kindergarten “Sunčani most” Mostar after receiving the Peace Award “Goran Bubalo” is available below:
Implementing a multiethnic and inclusive kindergarten program creates a sense of satisfaction in itself!
When we know that such a preschool program has been successfully implemented for almost 20 years in an ethnically (still, unfortunately) divided city, such as Mostar, the feeling of success and satisfaction is even greater!
However, gaining confirmation of the value of our work through a special Peace Award named “Goran Bubalo” – the name of a man who was a great peace activist, a true human rights activist – evokes a sense of true pride!
On Thursday, June 3, we were visited by representatives of the Network for Building Peace and presented with this great recognition.
The dedication reads “Thank you for inspiring us to build peace together!”
We would respond: “Thank you for recognizing our efforts and commitment and thus giving us an additional incentive to continue to spread the mission of reconciliation and respect among people!”.
This recognition means so much to all of us!
The beautiful art painting we received as a gift will find a special place in our workspace, to always reminds us how true values are always recognized in the end!
“Sunčani most/Sunny bridge” is a kindergarten which, by its symbolic name but by its practical action, is truly – a BRIDGE!
A bridge that connects the children who attend it, but not only children, but also their parents, friends…
In its small space, this kindergarten has so far “united” almost 20 generations of children of different nationalities, religions, different social status and different talents.
Everyone is different in some way, and everyone is equally accepted and welcome!
Today, these are young people who are expanding their mission!
The great interest of parents in enrolling their children in such a program and the long waiting list for enrollment shows that a significant number of people live in Mostar who support and respect differences.
Without parents like ours, we would not have succeeded – thank you all very much!
We share the joy with our founders, the Austrian social non-profit organization “Diakoniewerk” and with the City of Mostar, which provides support for such an important preschool program!
We are happy that the Peace Award has arrived in Mostar!
About the Award
The Peace Award of the Network for Building Peace, which has been named after Goran Bubalo since 2020, was established in 2013 as an award for individuals and schools that stand out in their work on peacebuilding and the promotion of human rights issues. The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding creative achievements in promoting tolerance, human rights and peacebuilding. The emphasis is on achievement. The ultimate goal is to draw attention to successful people and schools that can serve as role models for others in the areas of tolerance and peacebuilding. The award thus recognizes efficiency as well as vision. The Peace Award is awarded to people who stand on the defense of human rights and work to spread the principles of peace and solidarity in the world, and who have made an outstanding contribution to international social justice and peace, and interreligious cooperation. The award is dedicated to the effective implementation of the principle of tolerance in the public and private spheres, especially in activities that contribute to peace building in the fields of arts, education, culture and science.
Since 2016, the Peace Award has also been awarded to schools that stand in the way of solidarity, human rights and peacebuilding. The Peace Award for Schools is awarded to primary or secondary schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina that excel in their work on peace education, human rights, solidarity and non-violence issues, and participate in improving the lives of the entire local community. Schools are encouraged to use the initiative of students in order to create a culture of peace and sustainable development, encouraging the whole society to learn and think about what each of us can do for better today and tomorrow.
Laureates in 2020
– In the category of schools, the expert jury decided that the Peace Award in 2020 belongs to the Public Institution General Grammar School “Bosanska Krupa”.
– In the category of individual/activist, it was decided that the Peace Award will be awarded posthumously to our deceased colleague Goran Bubalo.
– A special award/certificate of appreciation this year was awarded to the kindergarten “Sunčani most” from Mostar
– In the individual category, the award was given to Zehida Bihorac Odobašić, from the First Elementary School in Velika Kladuša
The following persons were part of the expert jury:
- Vahidin Omanović – Center for Peacebuilding Sanski Most
- Aleksandar Žolja – Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka
- Nataša Maksimović – Network for Building Peace
- Nerzuk Ćurak – Faculty of Political Sciences Sarajevo
- Azra Pita Parente – PUBLIKA
- Damir Šaćiragić – Riječi mira
- Dženana Alađuz – Info House
- Sead Đulić – Mostar Youth Theater
