LocationsUnited Youth of Vitez Municipality Send a Message of Peace and Unity
May 16, 2023
Although they attend "two schools under one roof", young people in Vitez have shown a deep desire and willingness to work together and live in the richness of diversity. The International Day of Living Together in Peace, May 16, is an opportunity to point out their unity, which sends a message about the importance of solidarity throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina and the world.
"Always be together", is the message of high school students from Vitez who have not been attending the same class due to the division of students according to ethnicity.
Some attend classes according to the Bosnian curriculum, while others follow the Croatian curriculum. But despite the divisions imposed on them by the education system, these young people do not allow any differences to separate them. Even though they did not have the opportunity to share the same class this school year either, they came together on the dance floor.
Students from the Vitez Mixed High School and the Vitez High School, who study according to the different curricula, united through the project "Graduation Dance Preparations" realized by the LDF Vitez Sports Dance Center as part of the Regional Programme on Local Democracy in the Western Balkans 2 (ReLOaD2), which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
In the past months 110 young people from two schools had the opportunity to learn various types of international dances through regular weekly trainings in order to prepare for prom. Experienced trainers helped them acquire new skills that they had not had the opportunity to master before. As they say, they wanted to enable young people to make their prom night culturally and content-wise unforgettable.
"Graduation parties should be events of exceptional importance, because those events are the opportunity to show the level of culture and education of young people throughout the past period of schooling with an adequate, meaningful and rich program", stated from the LDF center.
However, the LDF center emphasizes that this project is not just about learning dance moves, but also a kind of invitation to community. On the International Day of Living Together in Peace, they celebrate because they have succeeded in their mission. This day is marked in order to strengthen the awareness of all people about the importance of promoting peace, solidarity, harmony and tolerance.
"This is a great story from which new friendships were born. I'll just say that the most successful dance couple was a combination of two students from two different schools. Laris Bešić is a boy with autism from a school that follows the Bosnian program, and his partner Marija Šuman comes from a school that follows the Croatian program. They are the proof that we managed to overcome many barriers with this project," said dance coach Dejan Brkić.
Students Marija Šuman and Laris Bešić say that their participation in the project was very useful and interesting. They managed to master the basics of many international dances such as bachata, sirtaki, foxtrot, polka, disco fox and others.
"The coach was always available and gave everyone individual attention so that we could easily master each dance step. The energy was always positive. On some days when we were in a bad mood, the coach was full of energy, which he transferred to us as well," Shuman said.
Her dance partner Laris adds that dance and new experiences contributed to the development of confidence among young people. He says that such projects are needed in Vitez because young people do not have many opportunities to participate in entertainment and educational content.
"Everything that moves us is good. There are many people in Vitez, but we need to be moved in order to make changes. I believe that we can all be awakened by activities like those within this project", Shuman added.
The graduates showed their newly acquired knowledge on the town square in Vitez when they danced the graduation choreography that they had been preparing for several months in front of their fellow citizens in May. Children with developmental disabilities from the Association "Betanija" and the Association "Slatkiš" joined them in the performance. The city square in Vitez shone, and the news about the young people from "two schools under one roof" who were united by dance went around the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"The choreography was made to a mix of popular songs from the cult film 'Brilliant' - cheerful, youthful, energetic and above all fun. Young people accepted her brilliantly. The final message of our choreography is 'Always be together', with which we touched all citizens of Vitez", said Brkić.
From the Sports Dance Center LDF Vitez, they say that they bring together all young people, regardless of any differences between them. The unification of high school students from "two schools under one roof" is just one of a series of activities that they want to contribute to strengthening coexistence in Vitez, with the support of the Municipality of Vitez. The activities they carry out are necessary for young people in Vitez, but they also believe that the wider social community should join them in order to spread positive energy together, unite people and do good for everyone without restrictions.
All students who participated in the project "Graduation dance preparations" were awarded certificates of successfully completed dance education. After the education of high school students, the LDF center is preparing a new project that will be dedicated to elementary school students from Vitez.
