The Kindergarten Democracy Program is implemented in 62 preschool institutions throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The 6th National Little Citizens Showcase on November 16 culminated the 2019 Kindergarten Democracy Program in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nearly 200 preschool children, their parents, and teachers celebrated the young citizens’ completion of the interdisciplinary democracy and human rights course. The children used art and role play to demonstrate the knowledge and skills of the four democratic concepts (Authority, Privacy, Justice, and Responsibility) they learned during the program. These concepts come from the Center for Civic Education’s Foundations of Democracy curriculum. The showcase was a unique opportunity for parents to be introduced to Civitas BiH’s Kindergarten Democracy Program, to analyze its quality, and to learn more about institutional support for disadvantaged families.
Civitas BiH was established in 1996 as a joint initiative of the Center for Civic Education, the United States Information Agency, and the Council of Europe.
This year, one thousand children from 15 kindergartens from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina attended the 120-hour course three times per week. Each school taught three groups of children: two regular classes and one mobile class for underprivileged children. This program significantly improved access to quality education, not only for children coming from remote areas and poor families, but also for minority groups, returnee children, and children with special needs. The Kindergarten Democracy Program is implemented in 62 preschool institutions throughout the country, with outreach to children from disadvantaged families who would not otherwise receive any form of preschool education. To date, more than 10,000 children have participated in civic education classes in their kindergartens. Civitas BiH was established in 1996 as a joint initiative of the Center for Civic Education, the United States Information Agency, and the Council of Europe. It is the Center’s Civitas International Programs partner in Bosnia and Herzegovina. More than one million students have participated in Civitas BiH’s civic education programs over the past twenty-three years.
