OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors welcomes progress towards dedicated premises for Bujanovac Department

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors visited Serbia from 2 to 4 February 2015, where she took stock of progress at the Bujanovac Department of the Subotica Faculty of Economics of the Novi Sad University and met with key interlocutors to discuss issues related to her mandate.

Progress on building the new Department building is going well, she noted. On 3 February 2015, Thors joined the other stakeholders of the Department and three students in a ground‑breaking ceremony for the new premises, which are expected to open in time for the 2015-2016 academic year. While she was there, she chaired the fourth meeting of the Stakeholders’ Committee to discuss future academic content and partnership possibilities as well as the construction of the new premises. 

“I am happy that the international community, in particular the EU and the OSCE, is backing these local efforts,” said Thors. “I believe that in the future, this Department will draw talent from across Serbia, especially among the more insightful students who understand the clear advantages of bilingual studies.”

Thors also attended a roundtable discussion on “Perspectives, conditions and limits of South Serbia’s development in the context of inter-regional co-operation and EU integration”, which was organized by the Faculty of Subotica and the Municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo. Thors commended this initiative, the first of its kind in the region, as an important step towards promoting the integration of society in southern Serbia.

“This initiative complements our collective efforts to widen higher-education opportunities to better serve future generations,” said Thors. “The economy and education are essential components to create employment opportunities, thereby underpinning confidence in the future and facilitating smooth integration.” She drew attention to The Ljubljana Guidelines on the Integration of Diverse Societies in this regard.

High Commissioner Thors also held separate meetings in Belgrade with the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Srđan Verbić and the Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia Peter Burkhard. In Bujanovac, she also met Professor Zoran Stanković, President of the Co-ordination Body for the Municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa; Mayor of Bujanovac Nagip Arifi and newly-elected President of the Albanian National Minority Council Jonuz Musliu.