On Monday, September 30th, 2024, the Youth Forum of the European Movement in Serbia (EPuS) organized a one-day workshop in Sremska Mitrovica, marking the final event of the “Let’s Speak Diversity” project. The first workshop was held in Kraljevo a week earlier. In total, the workshops gathered around 100 young people who had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the concept of interculturalism and its application in the education system.

The educational component of the workshop presentations by Forum members was based on the 2023 publication of the European Movement in Serbia titled “Interculturalism in Education.” The policy brief and the complete work of the Intersectoral Working Group for the Development of Intercultural Education are part of the activities within the project “Together for the Development of Intercultural Education,” which was implemented by the European Movement in Serbia as part of the Belgrade Open School project “Dialogue of Change,” with financial support from the European Union.

The interactive part of the workshops was primarily expressed through the game “KulTOURiška,” which is a product of student intercultural exchanges across Serbia. The European Movement awarded a total of 40 copies of this board game to the most active participants.

It is important to note that young people recognize the need for the education system in Serbia to promote interculturalism and encourage more reflection on this topic. They also expressed the need for the system to provide more information to young people about interculturalism and cultural differences. Additionally, the results of brief surveys conducted at the start of each workshop revealed concerning trends: in Sremska Mitrovica, 69.2% of participants felt that there were groups in their local community that faced discrimination simply because they were different from the majority, while in Kraljevo, this percentage was 46.9%. In both cases, participants identified the Roma community as particularly vulnerable to discriminatory practices. When asked, “Have you discussed the concept of interculturalism in your school classes?” approximately 80% of respondents in Kraljevo and 90% in Sremska Mitrovica answered negatively.

The goal of this project is to bring the concept of interculturalism closer to high school students through discussions and interactive workshops, with an emphasis on the importance of decentralization, which is why the two main project events were held in Kraljevo and Sremska Mitrovica. The project is supported by the Young European Federalists (JEF Europe) and implemented by the Youth Forum of the European Movement in Serbia/JEF Serbia.