The Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Ambassador Michael Davenport, and the President of the Coordination Body for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, Zoran Stankovic, talked today at the primary school “Naim Frashëri” in Bujanovac with pupils from the Albanian community who participated in the project aimed at improving the command of Serbian as a non-mother tongue. The project has been financially supported by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland through the development programme European PROGRES in partnership with the Coordination Body for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja.
“You and I have something in common, and that is the fact that Serbian is not our mother tongue, and that we are learning it. I am glad to hear that you have achieved very good results during the project and in competitions, and in the course of today’s visit we will actually have an opportunity to see what we have done so far to advance education,” said Davenport during his visit to the school.
“I would like to also underline the importance of the fact that a department of the Faculty of Economy from Subotica has been successfully functioning in Bujanovac, and young Serbs, Albanians and Roma from Bujanovac and other municipalities in the south have an opportunity to study at the faculty with an accredited curriculum in line with European standards,” Davenport added.
Ambassador Davenport then addressed pupils in Albanian and wished them all the success in their future work and studying and they showed him the progress they had made in mastering the Serbian language.
The primary school “Naim Frashëri” is one of four primary schools in the municipalities of Bujanovac and Presevo where Serbian language teachers have teacher assistants with whom they jointly work on raising the level of knowledge of Serbian as a non-mother tongue among children from the Albanian community. The European Union and the Government of Switzerland, through European PROGRES, also supported the procurement of textbooks and other necessary teaching materials.
“For the first time, we have organised school competitions for pupils learning Serbian as a second language, and more than 30 pupils from the area of Bujanovac and Presevo participated in the Republican contest in Novi Sad and spent time socialising with their peers from Vojvodina,” said Zoran Stankovic, President of the Coordination Body for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, and added that it was planned for this project to continue.
During his visit to Bujanovac, Ambassador Davenport took part in the meeting of Stakeholders’ Committee for the Department of the Subotica Faculty of Economy in Bujanovac project, and the message from this Committee’s meeting is that the focus of future work will be on enhancing the employability of graduates.
Ambassador Davenport said that he was proud of the fact that the European Union, together with the Government of Switzerland, through the European PROGRES development programme, supported the construction of this university facility in line with the highest European standards, and that currently there were nearly 400 students attending courses. The Department offers three accredited study programmes: Finance, Banking and Insurance, Marketing, and Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics. The curricula at the faculty is taught in two languages, Serbian and Albanian, which makes this Faculty a unique institution in South Serbia.
Head of the EU Delegation Michael Davenport also visited a joint student cooperative of two high schools in Bujanovac, “Sveti Sava” and “Sezai Surroi”, which has been established through the project for interethnic cooperation, which has been financially supported by the European Union and Swiss Government. The students of these two schools jointly write and print a bilingual magazine, make and sell souvenirs and in such a manner, they overcome the inter-ethnic distance.
Congratulating all the participants in the project on the results achieved, Ambassador Davenport pointed out that this project provided an opportunity to young people to work and spend time together, thus bridging the differences.
Davenport also met with the newly elected Mayors of Bujanovac and Preševo, Saip Kamberi and Sciprim Arifi respectively, as well as with the President of the Coordination Body for Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, Zoran Stankovic. Ambassador Davenport underscored the EU’s commitment to the development of these municipalities and called the local authorities to continue working with dedication on the implementation of projects that contribute to improving the quality of life of the population, which are implemented by the European PROGRES, the largest development programme in Serbia financially supported by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland.
The European Union and the Government of Switzerland will support the activities of the European PROGRESS programme, which contributes to the sustainable development of the South and South West Serbia, with a total of 24.46 million euros. Approved projects will be aimed at strengthening local administration, creating a favourable environment for the development of infrastructure and economy as well as improving the implementation of social inclusion and employment policy. The programme is implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the Central Finance and Contracts Unit at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia (CFCU).
The municipalities included in the programme are as follows: Novi Pazar, Ivanjica, Nova Varos, Priboj, Prijepolje, Raska, Sjenica and Tutin in South West Serbia, as well as Prokuplje, Blace, Zitoradja, Kursumlija, Leskovac, Bojnik, Vlasotince, Lebane, Medvedja, Crna Trava, Vranje, Bosilegrad, Bujanovac, Vladicin Han, Presevo, Surdulica, Trgoviste, Brus, Aleksinac, Gadzin Han, Doljevac, Merosina, Svrljig, Babusnica, Bela Palanka and Knjazevac in South East Serbia.
