FREE ZONE JUNIOR

In finding the most popular ways to promote human rights and freedoms it is necessary (in fact, crucial!) to approach the youth. With this in mind, we have developed the FREE ZONE project's program for high school students.

FREE ZONE JUNIOR – as we have called this program – envisions classroom activities = FREE ZONE JR in HIGH SCHOOLS = film as an additional educational aid in teaching of Civic Education and extracurricular activities = social documentary film CAMP for teenagers.

Initiation of the FREE ZONE JUNIOR project was caused by the following factors:

1)   general significance of official / school education in the field of human rights and freedoms in our society

2)  the impact of chosen / existing educational methods on the effective realization of school curriculum

3)   capability of quality films to convey stories related to human rights and their contribution to further development of educational methods and aids (which are currently limited and old-fashioned)

4) the importance of stimulation of creativity and social involvement of young people in their developmental age

Civic education was introduced in Serbian high schools in 2001 as an optional subject, resulting from a comprehensive reform of educational system implemented by the new democratic government.

It is obvious, on the other side, that this step was not developed to its full potential and that many things remain to be done. There is no precise information on the number of students attending the civic education classes (the estimate is around 60,000), but recent trends show that this number is decreasing. This tendency is caused, aside from general conservatism of the society and the system of education itself, by the lack of adequate educational material and educational techniques used by the teachers of civic education. The attractiveness of textbooks (as the only teaching source available) cannot match other, especially visual, media like TV and the Internet, which already occupy most of children's leisure time after school. Inadequacy of educational aids and methods is certainly one of the most important reasons for youth's marginal interest in school, with other sources of information – more attractive to young people – taking its place. The situation is made even worse by the fact that school lectures are organized using the ex cathedra approach, with little or no discussion or development of critical opinion.

FREE ZONE JUNIOR is a direct answer to these needs and aims to improve the mentioned aspects of the problematic situation regarding the civic education – primarily the teaching units related to human rights. It introduces films dealing with issues from this wide range of subjects, in accordance with the teaching curriculum.

There are special activities aimed at the group of 12-25 teenagers, high school students from Serbia, who will have a chance to develop their creativity towards social involvement in the Social Documentary Film Camp.

By organizing the program for high school students we aim to:

-    Promote and popularize human rights among the youth in the widest possible sense – economic rights, minority rights, civil rights as well as subjects related to human rights (tolerance, multiculturalism, freedom of choice, freedom of expression);

-  Enrich Serbian youth's knowledge about human rights and their understanding of challenges faced by the society in transition;

-    Motivate professors of Civic Education in seeking additional material – in this case film material – to improve and complement the curriculum;

-     Inform professors and students about various film cultures;

-     Stimulate social involvement and creativity of high school students.