The peer education workshops have begun in the schools of the Central Bosnia Canton. Their ultimate objective is that the peers influence their classmates and in the end transfer their acquired knowledge. The workshops are implemented by the NGO Genesis Project under the auspices of the German foundations Schüler Helfen Leben and Robert Bosch, within the framework of the project “Bridges of trust and cooperation”.
Eight groups of peer educators were formed in the schools, with a total of 186 students. The educators will participate in workshops until the end of April next year, when they are expected to be empowered enough to stand on their own (or in pairs) in front of their classes and transfer their experiences and knowledge to their classmates.
Considering that the educator and the peer participants have the same or similar interests, this greatly helps the educator not to be seen by the participants as someone who just came to be “smart-alecky”, but as a person who is facing similar problems and understands all of it. The fact that there is no generational gap eases the communication. This facilitates talking about topics that might otherwise not be discussed, therefore having in mind all of these advantages, the NGO “Genesis Project” decided to use such a way of working with students.
Peers have a strong influence on each other. A peer group can significantly affect what behaviour, values, or attitudes a person will adopt. The same goes for risky behaviour. This education uses this effect in a positive way.
The project “Bridges of trust and cooperation” is being implemented during the school year 2017/2018 and the school year 2018/2019 in the following municipalities of the Central Bosnia Canton: Bugojno, Gromiljak, Kiseljak, Busovaca, Vitez, Fojnica and Jajce, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Central Bosnia Canton.