Every sixth high school student in Montenegro states that he was exposed to discrimination because of his national identity, the greatest ethnic distance is towards the Roma and Albanian communities, and in the coming period it is necessary to focus strongly on education as a basic tool for the transformation of society, PR Center reports.
This was shown by a survey conducted by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Juventas during May and June of this year on a sample of 882 students, in partnership with the Union of High School Students as part of the Libela project - Contribution to the preservation of multinational harmony among young people.
They note that the research was conducted with the aim of providing insight into young people's thinking about respect for diversity, the characteristics of possible ethnic and social distance, as well as ways to overcome it.
The executive director of Juventas, Ivana Vujović, said that for 78,6% of high school students, religion is very important in everyday life, that over half of them use social networks and media as the dominant source of information about different cultures and customs of other nations, and only one in ten surveyed the person says to get information at school.
"Only 30.8% of respondents think that their school works to promote multicultural education, but they would like it to be different and to be more informed about it through school activities and literature," Vujović said at the presentation of the research in Pljevlja.
According to her, 87,3% of the surveyed high school students state that they are proud of belonging to their nation, and 76,6% that their national and ethnic group is respected in their school.
"Almost 60% of the respondents completely agree that other national and ethnic groups are respected in their school. The research showed that it is not common in Montenegro to have married couples who are of different religions or nations, which indicates that in the past it was present preferring partners who are of the same religion or nation," Vujović said.
She pointed out that the research showed that most children interact with children of a different national and religious identity from their own, and that they feel comfortable and natural in that interaction.
Vujović explained that high percentages of acceptance in professional cooperation and daily interactions indicate readiness for joint work and communication between ethnic groups.
"These data clearly show that there is openness for socializing and cooperation at the school and social level, and the interaction zone where negative attitudes are observed is conditioned by numerous prejudices and the lack of a sufficient number of models that children can look up to," said Vujović.
As she pointed out, the research showed that many children are not in daily contact with children of other nationalities and do not manage to establish a personal positive experience through direct contact and thus overcome prejudice and mistrust.
"The percentage of 31% of respondents who say that they rarely or almost never spend time outside of school in activities with young people of different national or ethnic origins is worrying," said Vujović.
She mentioned that the economic and social situation can also represent another negative factor.
"When different ethnic groups are segregated in different parts of society, the opportunities for meeting and interacting are limited, which can maintain or deepen non-acceptance. That is why we emphasize the importance of meeting and interacting and learning from peers about religion, cultural identity, and language," Vujović said. .
She pointed out that challenges become evident in the spheres of intimate relationships such as love/partner relationships and future marriage, where a lower rate of inter-ethnic acceptance is noticeable.
"This zone of non-acceptance is an indication of the still present inherited prejudices and mistrust that are often passed on from generation to generation, to which society does not react adequately, while at the same time they are misused for political and daily-political purposes. While emphasizing differences, cohesion , empathy, cooperation and exchange are not encouraged enough", warned Vujović.
She pointed out that research data show that the biggest ethnic distance is towards the Roma community.
"Only 15% of high school students consider it completely acceptable to marry a member of the Roma community, and for only 33% it would be completely acceptable for a member of the Roma community to hold a leadership position in the state. For the majority of respondents, it is acceptable that members of their identity perform leadership positions in society, but we come to a problem when those positions are performed by representatives of less numerous peoples, explained Vujović.
She said that the research showed that every sixth high school student (17%) states that they themselves have been exposed to discrimination because of their identity, while one in 15 surveyed people (6.2%) believes that they are often exposed to exclusion because of their identity. , namely "3,2% every day"l.
"The majority (54.7%) state that some children are exposed to ridicule and derogatory names because of their national identity," said Vujović.
Speaking about overcoming the problems and challenges pointed out by the research, she said that it is necessary to focus strongly on education as a basic tool for the transformation of society.
"Education should cover all levels - from formal education in schools to informal workshops and public campaigns. Promoting intercultural understanding is key in order to provide young people with the opportunity to learn about different cultures, customs and histories of other ethnic groups," stated Vujović.
He believes that through such initiatives, individuals will gain a deeper understanding and empathy towards others, which can gradually reduce prejudice and non-acceptance.
"Specifically, young people want to be educated through the media, but also through social networks/internet, through school activities, literature, direct conversation with friends and cultural exchange programs. Not every adolescent is suited to each of these approaches, but it is important to offer as wide a range as possible spectrum of options," stated Vujović.
She said that it is necessary to promote the learning of the Albanian language, as well as mutual interaction and to address the social distance expressed in some segments in relation to the Albanian national minority.
Miloš Milačić, adviser within the Capacity Building, Research and Advocacy Program at the NGO Juventas, said that the Libela project aimed to achieve a greater degree of respect for diversity and preservation of multinational harmony among young people.
"Montenegro is a multi-ethnic and multinational country that aspires to be an active member of modern European and world societies. The citizens of Montenegro enthusiastically support this vision, but they face challenges that come from the intergenerational gap and the lack of solidarity among young people. Intolerance, disrespect for diversity and other forms of social distancing have become worryingly common, and we are increasingly facing the tragic consequences of peer violence," Milacic said.
He warned that the worrying increase in incidents among young people is not limited to specific ethnic and national groups.
"We are witnessing an increasing need to invest additional efforts in order to stop the spread of this problem," Milacic added.
He said that in order to overcome these challenges, a series of activities have been designed in the framework of the project that will bring real and measurable results.
Milačić reminded that the campaign "Our differences are our values" is underway, which, in addition to young people, targets parents and teachers as well as spreading social discourse.
He explained that the project, which was financed by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, was realized through three phases - research, educational and educational-promotional phase.
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