Ana welcomes 15 new schools into UNICEF initiative

Ana welcomes 15 new schools into UNICEF initiative

Ana today visited the Municipality of New Belgrade Ceremony Hall to announce the induction of 15 schools into the “School Without Violence” programme, the UNICEF cause with which she is closely involved.

The 22-year-old, who has been a National Ambassador for UNICEF Serbia since September 2007, gave a heartfelt speech just miles from where she grew up and participated in a special workshop with local children, aimed at displaying how aggression in the classroom can be averted.

“Since I grew up in Novi Beograd (New Belgrade), I am very glad about this initiative in my municipality,” said Ana, who has made many personal donations to the programme in recent years.

“I would sincerely like the programme to spread to other Belgrade municipalities and to each and every school in Serbia, and to leave no school out from the fight against violence.

The workshop involved role-play in a mock classroom environment. Ana played the role of both observer, challenging the child actors as to why they were ‘bullying’ students, before assuming the role of a threatened pupil herself.

187 elementary and 9 secondary schools in Serbia are now part of the School Without Violence programme, which launched in 2005 and is supported by several Serbian governmental ministries.

Photo: UNICEF Serbia