After several consultation and organization meetings with Association Queer in the end of the last year, the concept for presentation of the LGBTTIQ issue was conducted and was ready to be presented. Now in 2009, in the following months, OGHKBH will be working on education and informing of high schoool students. Twelve high schools are envisioned for this project, ten from Sarajevo Canton and two from Eastern Sarajevo.
Broader public will also be educated and informed of terms, concept and issues of LGBTTIQ population.
„We firstly, got in touch with this topic via Human Rights schools. After participating in the workshop organized by Queer association, we had the idea that the same workshop we could conduct in high schools of the Sarajevo Canton. Since we ourselves were then full of prejudices and ignorance on LGBTTIQ concept as well, we thought that after attending Queer workshop and trainings, we should conduct peer-to-peer education in schools, since we are students ourselves, so we know what kind of image this population has in our age. Thus, we could and have made what will turn out afterwards, the right approach to other students of our age, making them interested and understanding of the topic“, said Naida Softic, youth coordinator.
Before starting out with the workshops and setting the target group, OGHKBH conducted a survey where they asked the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) whether they are familiar with the meaning of the term „LGBTTIQ“. The results showed that 82% of the B&H citizens did not know the meaning of this term.
„Survey results took us by surprise, so we started thinking how we could change this. In the end, we realized that we should start with high school students, since they are the creators of future public opinion and the ones who could and should accept the differences and break the patriarchal context of the environment we live in“, said Dunja Fazlic, project coordinator.
The main aim is to, by systematically conducted workshops and peer-to-peer education, familiarize high school pupils and get their attention and interest in terms, issue and concept of LGBTTIQ population.
“I am very pleased how the first workshops for high school students on LGBTTIQ population, went. The participants accepted the topic quite well and showed certain knowledge of it, without prejudices. General conclusion of the trainees was that regardless of name, surname, colour or sexual orientation, we all should have the same rights. Youth is the actor in the society that should struggle for better tomorrow and effect the creation of polices with their attitudes, so these kind of standpoints that we heard on these workshops are giving us hope in better tomorrow for all citizens in B&H regardless of their differences”, said Dunja .
Besides organizing workshops for high school pupils, regular contact with media and public will be maintained, in order to inform them about activities of the project and its aim. Public and media will be informed of the purpose of the project through street actions and distribution of leaflets.
OGHKBH plans to implement 8 more workshops on LGBTTIQ population in 9 more high schools of Canton Sarajevo and distribute over 2000 leaflets that inform and educate on concept, issue and term of LGBTTIQ.
More pictures:
LGBTTIQ workshop for 15 participants from Music High School in Sarajevo, February 2009.
