The South East Europe (SEE) Summer Academy ‘Human Rights in Action’ 

is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Education and Science, Montenegro; the Bureau for Educational Services, Montenegro; the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Wergeland Centre (EWC).

2nd South East Europe Summer Academy Residential seminar: 21-29 June 2013, Cetinje/Montenegro

Are you interested in education for democratic citizenship and human rights? Do you want to know more about how to create a climate of openness and mutual respect in the school?  Would you like to meet other teachers, school heads and NGO/ parent representatives from South East Europe and exchange your experiences?

Education professionals and community actors from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Kosovo (1), can participate in the South East Europe Summer Academy.

Deadline for applications was February 15, 2013

Council of Europe Education Newsletter - Special Issue on 'Summer Academies on Human Rights and Democracy in Action'

The SEE Summer Academy translates CoE’s policy into practice by offering a training in line with the CoE Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC) and Human Rights Education (HRE) and based on CoE manuals to education professionals and community representatives from South East Europe.

The purpose of the Academy is to strengthen the capacity of school heads, teachers and representatives from NGOs or parents’ associations to implement and promote EDC and HRE principles and practices in their schools and local communities.

Participants join the Academy as a team of three members coming from the same school and local community. It is available for teams from the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Kosovo (1). 

Based on a similar training model of the Summer Academy “Democracy at School”, which takes place annually in Poland, the SEE Academy uses a whole school approach to EDC/ HRE. It addresses multiple levels of EDC/ HRE work, ranging from the individual teachers, the classroom, and the school to the community.

A central part of the training is the development of an action plan by each team to implement upon return, with concrete activities and projects to promote EDC and HRE.

An experienced international team of trainers will run the training program in English. The training is based on the following CoE manuals:

• Democratic Governance of Schools (CoE 2007)
• How all teachers can support citizenship and human rights education: a framework for the development of competences (CoE 2009)
• School-Community-University partnerships for a Sustainable Democracy (CoE 2010)

The SEE Summer Academy aims to strengthen the cooperation between the participating countries through the exchange of experiences and good practices in the field. The CoE South East Europe Network of EDC/HRE Coordinators will function as a liaison body for the Academy.

(1) All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.