Students of the Gymnasium in Kolasin, Neda Miletic, Mia Draskovic and Jana Rakocevic, carry the unofficial title of human rights ambassadors in their town.
The young girls from Kolasin were a team that won a record score in last year's competition for the Human Rights Search. The contest was organized by the Civic Alliance and the EU Delegation, in cooperation with the Human Rights and Freedom Protector, the Government and the EU Info Center.
Recently, with their professor and mentor Zorana Vlahovic, they returned from a journey in Berlin, which was the reward for such success. They claim that their social activism is gaining momentum and that now they will be more motivated, thanks to the experiences they attained.
"Human rights are the foundation for everything. We strive to turn the attention to this fact in our mission as much as possible, and that as many people around us become aware of situations in which the fundamental rights of others or our own are being violated. This is not an easy job, but it brings results that make the quality of life better," the students said to “Vijesti”.
Jana is the only one from Montenegro, but also the former Yugoslavia, and in November last year, she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize. She was nominated for the award by the institution of the Human Rights and Freedoms Institution, and later officially nominated by the Global Organization for KidsRights, based in the Netherlands.
"I've been interested in human rights for a long time. I read the Convention on Children's Rights at the age of 11 and it was very interesting to me. I've been through this story for a long time and through what I do and through what I'm going to deal with in the future. I was one of ten of Gold Ombudsman advisers. Through this experience, I have learned to note the problems of my peers and to suggest that more attention should be paid to them through the institutions," says Jana, who also presented a report on the implementation of the UN Children's Rights Commitment in Geneva.
The experience of visiting the German institutions, says Mia, convinced them that their society is burdened with much less prejudice than ours. Exactly that labor, as she explains, on achieving the standards of Western countries in respecting the human rights is the goal they strive after.
"I got the impression that German society is much more open and wider. We here are still facing some prejudice, even though we are witnessing progress in the area of respect for human rights. We get a very early guidance about who we should love and who we should not. However, it seems to me that every single day, this conviction, that is what is embedded, is becoming less dominant," she says.
High school students send messages to their peers and other fellow citizens daily, that differences are an advantage.
It is important, they say, to preserve individuality, but also to fit in with others around us. Although aware that the Montenegrin society is burdened with some stereotypes that may be a brake on this path, they still believe that in traditional home-based education many values are similar to western standards of respecting human rights. To make as many peers as possible be more sensitive and open in respecting diversity, high school students consider it to be their goal. They are annoyed, they say, that in every area, even in their school, the bullies are the loudest. Because of this, they are convinced that people get an often-misguided impression of the actual state of affairs.
As part of the winning team, with several more Montenegrin high school students, the girls from Kolasin also became young ambassadors of the EU. They hope to get additional education and new experiences. But, as they promise, they will continue to devote a significant part of their daily lives to the education of their peers through direct conversations as well as school activities. For that, they say, they have the full support from the High school "Braca Selic" through various programs.
They promise they will strive, in whatever profession they will undertake in life, for as much respect for human rights as possible and it will remain one of their priority goals.
High school students can also make changes
Jana, Neda, and Mia are very grateful to their professor Zorana Vlahovic because she was their great support. Through her lessons in sociology, as well as the debates she organizes, they gained the sensitivity needed to win the contest, but also the motive for activism. Together with their peers, they organize numerous activities on marking important international holidays. "Every year we mark the “Day of Children”, the “Day of the Fight against Poverty”. These activities are very important because they turn attention to key issues. It's important for high school students to be aware of it and to do as much as they can to solve it," they argue.
Text by Dragana Scepanovic, on April 29th, 2019, read more at Vijesti
