Alternative History Curriculum for Bosnia and Herzegovina

The history teacher’s association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, EuroClio-HIP has realised the project Alternative curriculum for history in Bosnia and Herzegovina – a contribution to promoting humanism in history teaching and facing Bosnia-Herzegovina controversies. With this project, EuroClio-HIP aimed to initiate positive changes for the educational model of teaching history, in teaching plans and history education programs aimed at pupils in the age group of 11 until 15 years old. The aim of the project was to offer alternatives to state curricula, and to inspire creators of education policies. 

The event offers the opportunity to share highlights and the ideas of the project on alternative history curriculum in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the EuroClio community. During the live event, Bojana Dujkovic-Blagojevic, Edin Veladžić and Melisa Forić Plasto, members of the project team and EuroClio ambassadors, will elaborate on the project and its approaches, and the need to rethink existing curricula. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session and guided discussion, during which the participants have the opportunity to ask questions to the speakers and to offer feedback on the alternative curriculum.

Visit this page for more information on the project and to access the alternative curriculum (scroll down for English)

Speakers and Moderator

Bojana Dujković Blagojević: Bojana Dujkovic-Blagojevic graduated from the Department of History at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Banja Luka, where she similarly obtained her Master’s. She was working in parallel as a history teacher and for an NGO for several years. Her expertise includes association governance and development, cross-border cooperation, fundraising, advocacy, and public discourse on history education. She was one of the founders of the history teacher’s association of Bosnia and Herzegovina, EuroClio-HIP, where she holds the role of project manager. Bojana is the author of supplemental teaching materials for history and a co-author of a textbook for culture of religions. During her long cooperation with EuroClio, she has coordinated projects, developed teaching materials and acted as editor-in-chief for the publications for the Balkans region. She has actively worked as a trainer in the projects that are focused on culture of remembrance and in improving the capacities of history teachers. In 2014, she was appointed as a EuroClio ambassador. Ms. Dujkovic is currently working as a regional project coordinator for the European Wergeland Centre. 

Edin Veladžić: Edin Veladžić graduated from the Department of History at the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo in 2000 and after that he worked for 2 years as a history teacher. From 2003 to 2007, he was employed at the Institute of History in Sarajevo as an expert associate for modern history of the 19th and 20th centuries. He received his Master’s degree in the Austro-Hungarian period of Bosnian history in 2007. He has completed several professional trainings abroad and is the author of two books in history and cultural policy and co-author of history textbooks for the second grade of high school.  Besides being the author of a number of professional and scientific papers, Mr. Veladžić is one of the founders and the first president of the history teacher’s association of Bosnia and Herzegovina EuroClio-HIP. He is an active participant and organiser of a large number of seminars and conferences of professional and scientific character in the country and abroad. He is currently an employee of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the position of Expert Advisor for European Integration and International Cultural Cooperation. In 2014, he was appointed ambassador of EuroClio.

Melisa Forić Plasto: Melisa Forić Plasto was born in Sarajevo in 1980. She finished her undergraduate and Master’s degree in history, at the Department of History, Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo. She works as a teaching assistant at the History department at Faculty of Philosophy University of Sarajevo. Since 2003, she is a member of Bosnian and Herzegovinian History Teachers’ Association EuroClio-HIP and one of its founders. She is author and co-author of several history textbooks for elementary and secondary school and also author of several additional teaching materials. She participated in several international projects dedicated to the history education, culture of remembrance in Bosnia and Herzegovina and region, and during the cooperation with EuroClio coordinated several projects and developed several teaching materials. She also works as a trainer in projects that improve the capacities of history teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. In 2014, she was appointed as a EuroClio ambassador.

This session will be moderated by Joke van der Leeuw-Roord, historian and founding President, Special Advisor and former Executive Director of EuroClio. She founded EuroClio in 1992, and since then she has acquired recognition as an international expert on innovative and trans-national history, heritage and citizenship education. She has initiated and coordinated a multitude of national, trans-national capacity building projects for history and citizenship educators and historians in Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia Turkey and Ukraine.