FIVE YEARS IS BEHIND US – ETHOS Initiative Conference

Together with associates, friends, partners and supporters, <strong>TPO Foundation organized a Conference ETHOS Initiative on October 29.10.2018, in Srajevo</strong> and gathered over 250 participants. Five year jubilee was celebrated in five cantons and some local communities from other parts of BiH with diverse program accompanied by presentations of ministries, pedagogical institutes, faith communities and the <strong>book launch: "Living Values: global ethos in local context of BiH"</strong>. We spoke about good, ad importance of ethical and moral values as well as responsibility we have towards ourselves and towards the world in which we live.

<img src=’http://www.tpo.ba/pict/news/181029 SEkonfSa/181029 SEkonfSaV1.jpg’ style=’height:433px; width:650px’ /><img src=’http://www.tpo.ba/pict/news/181029 SEkonfSa/181029 SEkonfSaV2.jpg’ style=’height:433px; width:650px’ /><img src=’http://www.tpo.ba/pict/news/181029 SEkonfSa/181029 SEkonfSaV3.jpg’ style=’height:433px; width:650px’ />

<div class=’enetry790dualwrp’>

<strong>TPO Foundation marked five years of promoting the Ethos Program</strong> with a final <strong>conference</strong> in Hotel Hills <strong>in Sarajevo</strong> on <strong>October 19, 2018</strong>. We spoke about ethics, tolerance, openness and solidarity as well as other values around which we can gather as human beings and which we all have in common. It is important to us to share positive stories from BiH, stories about friendship, goodness, solidarity and understanding: stories about nuggets of humanity that we do not see sufficiently because public discourse is hijacked by negative images. Issues have to be discussed; however, we need to speak of the good more loudly than we speak of the bad. This will help us be more grateful, more humble and to nourish hope, because hopelessness can be any society's greatest malady.<br />
Over 250 teachers, pedagogues, principals and representatives of education ministries, pedagogy institutes and civil societies had the opportunity to see some of the results of the Ethos Initiative, which has gathered over 1000 teachers from five cantons and different schools in BiH. The conference was attended by teachers and students from many BiH cities and towns: Tuzla, Gradačac, Tešanj, Bužim, Bihać, Kupres, Orašje, Livno, Mostar, Jablanica, Konjic, Kiseljak, Visoko, Vareš, Bugojno, Jajce, Travnik, Sarajevo.<br />
<strong>Emina Jusufbegović, the assistant to the minister for education, science and culture in HNC</strong> (Herzegovina-Neretva Canton), stated that it is important to implement education for peace and nonviolence and to promote ethical values in the educational system because teachers are one of the most important links in the socialization of an individual.<br />
<strong>Izet Numanović, an adviser at the Pedagogy Institute in TC</strong> (Tuzla Canton), spoke about the importance of mutual action by believers and non-believers because "mutual action … intended for greater good, and removed from both secular and religious fundamentalism, represents one of the fundamental aims of the project."<br />
 

<strong>Sedžida Hadžić</strong>,<strong> a teacher at Third Gymnasium Sarajevo</strong>, reminded us of the fundamental imperative: "Always act in a way makes the maxim, the basic principal of your will, applicable to all people!", which is (as she clarified) expressed in Confucius' Golden Rule: "Don't do to others what you don't want done unto you."<br />
<strong>Fra Ivan Nujić from the Franciscan Gymnasium Visoko</strong> spoke about values of forgiveness and reconciliation and the role of young people in applying universal values in the accelerated process of social changes, because "young people adapt easier than older people, they create room for a broader application of World Ethos values in society in general by having young people as the driving force in these positive changes". One of the most difficult tasks in that respect is the healing of a society by eliminating the desire for revenge, by creating a culture of solidarity, reconciliation and forgiveness." <br />
The book <strong>Living Values</strong> edited by <strong>Zilka Spahić Šiljak</strong> and <strong>Melika Šahinović</strong> was promoted by prominent scholars and university teachers: <strong>Nerzuk Ćurak, Nihada Delibegović-Đanić, Ivan Šarčević and Spahija Kozlić</strong>.<br />
<br />
Media presentation:<br />
<br />
<strong>Mreza mira:<br />
<u><a href=’https://www.mreza-mira.net/vijesti/aktivnosti-mreze/ethos-initiative-universal-values-in-local-context/’ target=’_blank’>https://www.mreza-mira.net/vijesti/aktivnosti-mreze/ethos-initiative-universal-values-in-local-context/</a></u></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>FENA:</strong><br />
<u><a href=’http://www.fena.ba/article/1049808/bh-skole-u-promoviranju-univerzalnih-etickih-vrijednosti’ target=’_blank’>http://www.fena.ba/article/1049808/bh-skole-u-promoviranju-univerzalnih-etickih-vrijednosti</a></u><br />
<br />
<strong>TV HAYAT:</strong><br />
<u><a href=’https://www.hayat.ba/vijest.php?id=137815′ target=’_blank’>https://www.hayat.ba/vijest.php?id=137815</a></u><br />
<br />
<strong>PORTAL AKOS: </strong><br />
<u><a href=’https://akos.ba/zilka-spahic-siljak-za-akos-ba-bez-etike-i-morala-civilizacija-gubi-kompas/’ target=’_blank’>https://akos.ba/zilka-spahic-siljak-za-akos-ba-bez-etike-i-morala-civilizacija-gubi-kompas/</a></u>

</div>

<div class=’enetry790dualwrp’><img src=’http://www.tpo.ba/pict/news/181029 SEkonfSa/181029 SEkonfSaV4.jpg’ style=’height:433px; width:650px’ /></div>

<div class=’enetry790dualwrp’><img src=’http://www.tpo.ba/pict/news/181029 SEkonfSa/181029 SEkonfSaV5.jpg’ style=’height:433px; width:650px’ /><img src=’http://www.tpo.ba/pict/news/181029 SEkonfSa/181029 SEkonfSaV6.jpg’ style=’height:433px; width:650px’ /></div>