The representatives from Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Poland and Romania met at the Rektorat Univerziteta Crne Gore in Podgorica, Montenegro from 5 to 7 November 2015 for the first coordination meeting of the pilot project on “Addressing violence in schools through Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education”.

The aim of this first face to face meeting was to present the findings of the national policy and research reviews on violence at school carried out by each partner country and to discuss commonalities, differences but also gaps in the national strategies towards tackling violence at school.

The partner countries agreed to set up discussion focus groups consisting of 20 participants representing the school community (teachers, heads of school, school counselors, administrative staff) and civil society (parents associations, youth organisations, NGOs). Their aim will be to define the concept of violence and to assess how violence is perceived in the educational sphere. The groups will also be invited to reflect on effective ways to address violence at school in their national contexts and to make concrete recommendations involving all layers of stakeholders.

Outcomes of the discussion focus groups will be shared among the partners at their second coordination meeting at the end of February 2016.