We talked with the school principal Maida Vugdalić-Kulić about the establishment of the school, the number of students who attended it, classes and activities, but also about how many children of BiH origin are connected to our country.
The Bosnian Ethnic School (BES) was founded back in 1994, when a group of enthusiasts and patriots, with a large number of educators from Bosnia and Herzegovina, settled in Sydney, decided to launch this complex project. The desire was and remains not to get lost even with the original homeland and to give their children the opportunity to learn and improve their mother tongue.
Among the founders are the current honorary roe deer of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Australia, Amir Sahinovic, the Harambasic couple, Jasmina Bajraktarevic Hayward and many others.
The Bosnian ethnic school has been successfully included in the Federation of New South Wales Language Schools, which has a significant number of member schools and with its long work and active participation through the activities of the same Federation, occupies a very important place on their list. participates directly and with great interest in the work of this institution, given that multiculturalism is a valuable part of Australian society.
BiH Independence Day 2021 / BEŠ
We talked about the work of the school with the school principal, Maida Vugdalić-Kulić .
– The umbrella body of BEŠ is the School Board with its members. All members have their responsibilities – from administration to finance, support of technical platforms, spokespersons and the like, and in addition, there are inevitably professors and lecturers. The school can enroll all students attending a regular Australian school, from primary to secondary school. It is an obligation to meet the criteria and norms of the curriculum, and to achieve a certain degree of regularity of students. Highly qualified lecturers compile worksheets according to the level of knowledge of students for each of the four quarters, which make up the school year. The focus is on learning Bosnian language and literature, as well as the culture and traditions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. For this reason, the Bosnian Ethnic School enjoys considerable respect from members of the wider Bosnian community in Australia, striving for constant cooperation with other BiH. organizations by promoting the language and public appearances of students, and by supporting any positive promotion of the homeland, doing so itself through various aspects of Australian society. All of us who are directly involved in its work try to be our own ambassadors of our BiH in Australia, in the most beautiful way possible., pointed out the principal Vugdalić-Kulić and added that all those who are directly involved in the work of the school, try to be the ambassadors of BiH in Australia – in the most beautiful way possible.
From its founding until today, several thousand students have passed through BEŠ. An interesting fact is that first-generation students are now the parents of children who are currently attending school. On average, about 70 students enroll in BEŠ each year, and they are divided into four classes – depending on where they live, given the size of Sydney. Students and school staff are often guests at primary public schools, and for many years they have been hosted by Amity, a Turkish private college, and a musafirhana next to one of Bosnia’s mosques in Sydney. It is important to point out that BEŠ has its own space at the Bosnian Cultural Center, and consists of an office, a library and a spacious classroom.
Visit to the Embassy of BiH in Canberra / BEŠ
Classes take place on weekends, and the classes are of mixed age, with the oldest students usually taking on the role of assistant lecturers. In the first half of the year and at the end of the year, tests and exams are performed that confirm the progress of children’s knowledge and show which fields need more work next year. Diplomas are the crown of a successful school year and are awarded at the closing ceremony attended by parents, guardians and others credited with working that school year.
Maida’s work with BEŠ began back in 2000, when she took on the role of volunteer lecturer as a student of Slavic languages and literature at Macquarie University in Sydney. As he tells us, a great love for this institution and work with children was born then, which has never been extinguished. And although her regular profession is court and oral interpreter, she gladly responded when two years ago she received another offer to take over the position of President of the School Board.
– However, my condition was to work as a professor-lecturer and mentor to other lecturers, to be in constant contact with children, which I always saw as a privilege. My two sons, Mak and Danis, also attend Bosnian language classes intensively, so I know first hand what it takes to get their attention and motivate them to learn and follow the lecture as well as possible , explains Maida.
Online classes / BEŠ
Maintaining a connection with the country of origin more than 13,000 kilometers away is not easy, but, emphasizes Vugdalić-Kulić, our children are very mature and more than well understand the situation in which they find themselves, as well as the fact that their grandparents are in eternal nostalgia for the place of birth, as well as striving to fit in as well as possible in Australia.
– Toddlers undoubtedly enjoy their bilingualism, and the undeniability that Bosnia and Herzegovina is an inseparable part of them, so through a good knowledge of the Bosnian language, they feel in their childish way that they make their parents, grandparents happy. In my heart, and I say this first hand, without any diminished love for Australia, because new generations in 99% of cases were born here, they cultivate a deep commitment to everything that is Bosnian, showing great interest in all past and present events in BiH, emphasizing how much they enjoy visiting their parents’ country of origin and the fact that a good command of the Bosnian language, knowledge of culture and tradition opens the door for them to stay there longer in the future. For this reason, it is evident that our children do not distance themselves from their identity, on the contrary, they respect and love it, and it is certainly a great task for parents to guide and support them in this positive intention, which is the role of parents in our lives. After that, we lecturers are obliged to justify this trust of both the child and the parents, to nurture their love for identity, through an interesting, quality and meaningful curriculum., points out our interlocutor.
Bosnian Ethnic School Sydney / BEŠ
“One thing is for sure, the Bosnian Ethnic School will responsibly continue to promote all values in Bosnia and Herzegovina, starting with language, love of books, opening a small school library, writing, organizing various competitions, participating in cultural events, guest appearances and cooperation with BiH media. by supporting all BiH organizations in Australia with a positive message, in a fervent desire and effort to maintain close contact with mother Bosnia and Herzegovina, believing that this is the right path, which leads our children to a clearer future without forgetting what we are and will always be , with a broadening horizon for all new knowledge. ”
More information about the Bosnian Ethnic School can be found here