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THE HAGUE/SARAJEVO, October 23 (FENA) - High school students from the Municipality of Jajce in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have been selected as the winner of the 2018 Max van der Stoel Award.
The award is given in recognition of their outstanding courage and inspirational activism, which led to the prevention of further segregation in schools in Jajce as well as throughout the country.
In the summer of 2016, high school students in Jajce stood up against a cantonal decision to establish a new school solely for Bosniak students.
The implementation of this decision would have continued the “two schools under one roof” practice of ethnically segregated schools in the country, further deepening the estrangement between the communities.
The members of the jury acknowledged the tenacity, moral authority and bravery of the students and recognized the need to nurture their quest for inclusive and better quality education.
The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Stef Blok will present the Max van der Stoel Award to a group of high school students from the municipality of Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The award ceremony will take place in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Friday, 9 November.
On the margins of the ceremony, a photo exhibition will be launched to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the HCNM. From 12 November to 1 December, the photo exhibition will be viewable by the public at the Atrium, The Hague City Hall.
The Award - named after the distinguished Dutch statesman and first OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Max van der Stoel, – in the amount of 50,000 euros was established by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2001.
It is awarded biennially to an individual, group or institution in recognition of extraordinary and outstanding achievements aimed at promoting integration and social cohesion in the OSCE participating States, announced the OSCE Mission to BiH.
(FENA) S. R.
