A life experience for a culture of peace

The “Biseri” (Pearls) nursery school is the first experiment of its kind in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The socialist regime did not allow much freedom of initiative in the field of education, and now the search is on for new reference points and values. In a multiethnic and multifaith country, a place of violent conflicts in the recent past, this school, embedded in a trilingual (Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish) university, will be a laboratory where education to peace can be experienced, and where the students can train and be formed in new pedagogical principles. During the inauguration, Adnan Cahil, the minister of education, expressed his desire that these initiatives might be a stimulus for the future of their society, and that they be multiplied throughout Macedonia and the other countries of South East Europe.

In her message for its inauguration Chiara Lubich described the school as a “courageous and innovative idea”. Among the 150 people present, there were representatives of the Government, of the University “S. Kliment Ohridski” and of various educational institutes. The speakers were the Rector, Giorge Martinovski, the Dean Murat Murati, and Valeria Ronchetti, representing Chiara Lubich,. “This is an idea”, Chiara had written, “that finds its deepest meaning in the promotion of unity among persons, peoples, cultures and religions”. “My wish is that the children who attend this school might become “little pearls” and examples for many! And my wish for their teachers is that they can experience the true culture of dialogue and mutual love that is the essential way to build a new society, based on fraternity and peace”.

The “Biseri” school is inspired by the educational methods practiced for several years at the nursery school “Ray of the Sun”, at “Faro”, (Krizevci) the little town of the Focolare Movement in Croatia. Founded in 1995, it is based on the educational principles of the pedagogy of communion of the Focolare Movement, and on the method developed by the Agazzi sisters, Italian teachers in the immediate post-war period. It uses didactic material that the child reworks using his or her imagination together with their peers, developing the capacity for collaboration and integration. 

Since 1995, there have been many initiatives in the field of primary education, in order to rebuild, starting with the youngest citizens, the social fabric of the region of South East Europe, marked by years of conflict. After “Ray of the Sun”, in Croatia, the “Fantasy” school began in Belgrade. And in order to explore these themes, a post graduate course began February 2007 at the University of Zagreb (Croatia) comprising 180 hours of pedagogy of communion, and the Agazzi method.

The educational experience of the “Ray of Sun” nursery school, where Anna Lisa Gasparini, has been working for several years with a team of experts, has been the subject of numerous seminars, supported by EDU (Education and Unity). These have drawn the attention of the Minister of Public Instruction of Croatia, and many universities from neighbouring countries: Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and Albania.  And so the desire was born for a school in Macedonia where ethnic barriers would be overcome, and seeds would be sown for a future of peace.