Our school, our diversity
Throughout March 2016, schoolchildren between the ages of 12 and 18 from across the OSCE region were sending in videos to the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) on why diversity matters in the classroom. This video contest was held to mark 20 years of the HCNM’s The Hague Recommendations which underscore that education can help prevent conflicts.
The contest was a success. By the 1 April 2016 deadline, HCNM received 101 contributions from school students in 15 OSCE participating States. They were given the task of telling the video story about diversity in their school within 60 seconds.
The entries deployed a variety of innovative approaches including music, dance and local cultural customs, and the quality of the submissions was outstanding. After carefully reviewing all the videos, HCNM selected the best three videos. The producers of the winning films will each receive a prize and these entries will be screened during a high-level conference on 20 to 21 April 2016 at The Hague to mark the 20th anniversary of The Hague Recommendations.
The first prize in the video contest went to 17-year-old Nursultan Abakirov from Secondary School Number 38 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He entered the contest encouraged by his teacher and paired up with classmates Sabina, Victoria and Beknazar to translate his idea of portraying different ages and ethnicities in his school into a video.
Second place in the video contest went to 16-year-old Liviu Rotaru from the Elena Alistar Theatrical Lyceum in Chisinau, Moldova. He learned about the contest through the National Youth Council of Moldova Facebook page. Liviu is experienced in making short films and decided “… instead of using dialogue, use masks to portray vulnerable groups in society.”
Third place goes to 16-year-old Besim Bojadžija from Srebrenik’s Mixed Secondary School in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Having found it easy to engage fellow students in making the video, Besim compiled a series of face shots to profile the diversity in appearance of his school mates.
“Our school, our diversity” was the first video contest organized by the HCNM. The High Commissioner and her staff therefore thanks all the participants for their inspiring and thought-provoking contributions.
The three winning videos, along with the other top entries as selected by the HCNM panel, can be viewed on the OSCE’s YouTube channel.
20th Anniversary of The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities
Read more about the high-level conference to mark the 20th Anniversary of The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities here
Read more about the high-level conference to mark the 20th Anniversary of