(L-R) Prof. Inge Eigsvag from the Nansen Academy, Ms. Ljuljjeta Goranci- Brkic from Nansen Dialogue Centre, Sarajevo at the conference and Mr Sasho Stojkovski, Executive Director of Nansen Dialogue Centre in Skopje, Macedonia.

Mr. Kayhan Karli from the Teachers Academy in Istanbul pictured with Paula McIlwaine, NICIE Development Officer

Skopje, 14-15 December 2013

NICIE staff, Cliodhna Scott-Wills and Paula McIlwaine, were honoured to present at the ‘Second International Conference on Integrated Education’ which took place in Skopje, Macedonia on 14-15 December 2013. Conference participants included teachers and leaders from both primary and secondary schools who had taken part in the basic and advanced level professional development in the Nansen model for integrated education.

The Training Centre was established in partnership with the Ministry for Education and Science and is the first Centre of its kind in Macedonia and in the Balkan region. NICIE was delighted to enter into a formal memorandum of co-operation with the centre in March 2013, leading to reciprocal support and sharing of good practice between Northern Ireland and Macedonia.

On the first day participants were inspired to hear the keynote speech from Professor Inge Eidsvag from the Nansen Centre for Peace and Dialogue in Lillehammer, Norway, followed by words of encouragement from his colleague, Steinar Bryn, who spoke of the necessity of developing integrated education as an integral contribution to peace-building in the Balkan region. The day drew to a close with good practice, in multi-cultural initiatives in education, shared by Ljuljjeta Goranci-Brkic from Sarajevo, Elvir Djuliman from Mostar and Suzana Agotic from Croatia.

Day two of the Conference began with Kayhan Karli sharing interesting initiatives in education, derived from Turkey, before the focus turned to Northern Ireland and the benefits of adopting an anti-bias approach to education, delivered by Paula McIlwaine and a workshop on deepening the ethos of integration, facilitated by Cliodhna Scott-Wills.

The Conference drew to an up-lifting close with certificates awarded to all the advanced level participants who had completed their second year of training. The certificate giving was preceded by positive, encouraging words from NICIE CEO, Noreen Campbell, who appeared via video. And Professor Inge Eidsvag brought the Conference to a fitting close, quoting the words of Nelson Mandela: “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

ends