From September 15 to 21, the University of East Sarajevo will host the 1st Summer School “Rethinking the Culture of Tolerance – The New Challenges of the European Integration Process,” which it organizes jointly with the University of Sarajevo and the Bicocca University in Milan.This is a three-year project, and the plan is that each of the participating universities will host the Summer School one year.

Professor Dr. Dejan Bokonjić, Vice Rector for International Cooperation and Quality Assurance of the University of East Sarajevo said that the basic idea of the school is to promote a multicultural society filled with tolerance.

“We all know how important that topic is in these parts. I hope this school will open numerous questions, but also provide answers to them,” said Professor Bokonjić.

Professor Dr. Ugo Vlaisavljević, Vice Rector for International Cooperation of the University of Sarajevo, believes that the topic of this Summer School is one of the most important topics in the field of social studies and humanist disciplines. For Professor Vlaisavljević, the fact that one of the organizers is the Bicocca University in Milan, says that the question of tolerance is not just the problem of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the post-war period, but is common in Europe, as well.

“I think that almost pioneering steps were made in meetings between the universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The University of East Sarajevo and the University of Sarajevo are practically in the near vicinity of one another, but they have no tradition of exchange and joint projects. This summer school is a step which will be greeted by the domestic academic public, and especially those interested in finding a conflict-free solution to problems in Europe,” Vice Rector Vlaisavljević said.

The Bicocca University in Milan, who will host the Summer School next year, also considers this project exceptionally important. Tatjana Sekulić, Docent at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Research at the Bicocca University in Milan, confirmed that the second edition of the summer school has been entered into the official catalogue of this institution, and it is planned to take place during the international event EXPO 2015.

Sekulić said that the whole project was in danger after the May floods and the catastrophic damages they have caused in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because it was uncertain whether the existing funds would be enough.

“With much effort, particularly from the University of East Sarajevo and the Bicocca University in Milan, but with the necessary support from the University of Sarajevo, we still made the decision to start the project. That would have been impossible had all the lecturers, as well as all the members of the Scientific Council, not decided to teach their classes voluntarily,” Sekulić explained.

She added that the Summer School is only the first successful project in a series of projects to be organized by the three universities.

The School is intended to Master’s and PhD students in the field of social sciences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, countries of the region, European Union, as well as international students. The Call for Applications prompted around 140 valid candidates from 30 countries of Europe, North America, Africa and Asia to apply. The Committee has selected 35 candidates from 15 countries who will take part in the School. The School is organized as a combination of plenary sessions and workshops. During the plenary sessions, the lecturers will give their views on the topics included in the daily agenda, so that in the workshops discussions can be organized around various topics related to given topics. The lectures and workshops will be organized at the University of East Sarajevo Rectorate, and one day of the School will be organized at the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo.

Among the lecturers at the Summer School, there will be many esteemed scientists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and abroad dealing with these topics. The most notable lecturers include Professor Dr. Elisabetta Galeoti from the Piemonte Orientale University, a philosopher active in the field of tolerance and a highly esteemed lecturer at a number of British and American universities, and Professor Dr. Ade Kearns, urban sociologists at the University of Glasgow.

Representatives of the University of Sarajevo and the University of East Sarajevo, Professor Dr. Ugo Vlaisavljević and Professor Dr. Dejan Bokonjić, are unanimous in their belief that the Summer School will contribute to exchange of experiences and an advanced cooperation between the two universities, as well as the development of academic community and the entire society of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For the University of East Sarajevo, it is particularly important the honor it was given by being chosen to initiate the project and become a place of academic discussion on the burning and current issues.

The School will open on Monday, September 15, and the opening ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9:00 at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the UES (the building of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the UES). The participants of the School will be addressed by the representatives of the universities organizing the School, the Mayors of Sarajevo and East Sarajevo, as well as some of the lecturers. The opening ceremony will be attended by the representatives of several embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Deans of the organizational units of the University of Sarajevo and the University of East Sarajevo, as well as numerous other guests.

The certificate award ceremony and the closing of the school will take place on Saturday, September 20, at 12:00 at the University of East Sarajevo Rectorate.

The official sponsor of the Summer School is the Embassy of the Republic of Italy to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

You can keep up with all the activities of the Summer School on the official websites of the University of East Sarajevo, University of Sarajevo, as well as the website of the School.

WEB Editorial Staff, UES / http://www.ues.rs.ba/en/university/news/ues-to-host-summer-school-on-tolerance