Mentors for Democratic Culture, an initiative established within the joint European Union and Council of Europe action Quality education for all Serbia, gathered from 30 May to 1 June to exchange knowledge, share best practices and create new, innovative concepts to mark the Day of Education for Democratic Culture with local communities, students, parents and other partners.

One of the key tasks mentors from 36 mentor schools in Serbia had, was to identify new schools in their school districts that, in co-operation with the Ministry of Education, they could approach, provide mentorship and train to successfully implement the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture.

The meeting served as a space for mentors to come together, share their experiences, and learn from each other. Through engaging discussions and collaborative activities, the mentors were able to enhance their knowledge and skills for disseminating the concept of democratic school culture to new 180 schools for the 2024/25 school year.

The trainers also made sure that gender equality was at the forefront – mentors were able to further enhance their knowledge about gender mainstreaming in the formal education sector, which was built into their action plans and will also be a backbone of the training concept for new schools.

The action “Quality education for all” is part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”.