The President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mandić, today presented certificates to the participants of the “Barbara Pramer” Democratic Workshops at the 15th ceremony held in Villa “Gorica”.
Addressing the participants, Mandić emphasized the importance of this program, which the Parliament of Montenegro has been implementing continuously since 2012, with the aim of bringing the values of democracy, parliamentary life, European integration and human rights closer to children and young people.
Mandić, as announced, emphasized that thousands of students have passed through the Democratic workshops over the past years, who in an interesting and practical way gained knowledge about the functioning of a democratic society, the role of citizens and the importance of respecting freedom of opinion, the right to vote and human dignity, stressing that the education and upbringing of the youngest are the foundation of building a fair, free and developed society.
“The President of the Assembly paid his respects to Barbara Pramer, the former President of the Parliament of the Republic of Austria, after whom the program is named, reminding that thanks to the support of the Austrian Parliament, the ERSTE Foundation and the organization Forum young and informal education, this project was successfully started. He reminded that the Parliament of Montenegro has been implementing the program independently since the end of 2014, with permanent gratitude to the partners who contributed to its development,” the Assembly announced.
Speaking about the improvement of Democratic workshops, Mandić, as reported, highlighted the successful cooperation with the Organization for European Security and Cooperation (OSCE), through which a module dedicated to media literacy was developed, as well as cooperation with UNICEF on the creation of a new module dealing with social cohesion.
He particularly pointed out the importance of cooperation with the National Parks of Montenegro, thanks to which the participants had the opportunity to realize part of the workshops in a natural environment, in some of the most beautiful locations in the country.
“Mandić also recalled the organization of an online international democratic workshop, in cooperation with the Austrian Parliament, dedicated to freedom and responsibility, justice and the rule of law, solidarity and respect for diversity, as well as a workshop on democracy and the role of representatives for young people from the Roma and Egyptian community, organized in cooperation with the NGO “Center for the Affirmation of the RE Population”, according to the Assembly.
Addressing the youngest, Mandić said that children are Montenegro’s greatest asset and expressed his belief that it is the new generations that will shape the future of the country as an even fairer, stronger and more advanced community, firmly focused on European values.
“He pointed out that the knowledge that young people acquire represents a permanent value that empowers them to become responsible, free and self-aware citizens,” the Assembly said.
At the end of the speech, Mandić congratulated the participants on the successful completion of this year’s program and handed certificates to the participants of the “Barbara Pramer” Democratic Workshops, with the message that young people are the strength and hope of the future of Montenegro.
As part of the solemn ceremony, an appropriate program was organized in which the students of the “Branko Brinić” Elementary School, Radovići, Tivat, participated.
