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The bell rings at the "Marshal Tito" elementary school in Ulcinj on Montenegro's southern coast, and the classroom doors burst open, letting out a torrent of children, laughing and running. A group of them stand in front of the classroom I have come to visit, waiting for their teachers to arrive. We enter the classroom, everybody takes their seats and now I can get a better look at them.
About 30 pupils, aged 7-15, sit in front of me. Ulcinj is known as a place where different cultures - Montenegrins, Albanians, Serbs, Roma, Egyptians and Ashkali - and different faiths - Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox - merge, and that is strongly reflected in this class.
But although the pupils come from very different backgrounds, they have one thing in common: they are all members of the school's journalism club, publishing the best of their work in their own magazine Djecja Planeta (Children's Planet).
The club has been run since September 2008 by two Egyptian journalists, Muhamed Ukovic and Biljana Alkovic, who have been trained under an OSCE Mission to Montenegro project to develop Roma, Egyptian and Ashkali leadership potential.
No taboos
Biljana, a student of political science, has nothing but praise for the children she works with. "There are no taboos in our discussions," she says. "We encourage the children to speak freely of the problems they face. We conduct interviews and opinion polls, trying to get answers to questions such as observance of children's rights and violence in schools, and we publish the results in the magazine."
The young journalists meet on Mondays after school. They work in groups with their teachers, discussing various topics - ethics, tolerance, discrimination, drug abuse and other problems - and preparing the material for the next issue of Children's Planet.
"When I grow up, I would like to be a journalist. I would work hard on observance of human rights and I would criticize all those who breach them," wrote Bahrija Begzic, a 12-year-old girl from the sixth grade in an article for the magazine.
Striving for truth
Her friend Zlatica Nakic, also 12, added: "Striving for truth is the purpose of journalism. A journalist has to behave well and be friendly, because journalists are the eyes and the ears of common citizens. This profession also requires impartiality and tolerance, which are necessary for good communication and good relations."
And in an article on friendship, Zlatica's twin sister Tamara wrote: "My best friend is Mersiha. My secret is her secret, my pain is her pain too, she's happy when I'm happy and we share everything. We have different religions, but that only helps us learn about different cultures and understand that different cultures and tradition should bind us, not divide us. Friendship knows no boundaries, nations or skin colour."
The magazine has a print run of 1,500 copies and is distributed free to all pupils at the school. "All the children are excited about it - not just those who work on it, but those who read it too. We started working in September 2008 with some 12 pupils, and now the journalism club has more than 30 members," Biljana says with pride.
Common goal
"This initiative has proved very valuable, as children from different cultures and religions are very motivated to work together in groups for a common goal - the magazine," says Raffaella Zoratti, Democratization Officer in the OSCE Mission and manager of the project.
"The idea was to create strong new friendships. To my surprise and my great pleasure, from the very beginning these children worked together as one, without any prejudice, with their hearts and minds open. It seems to me that we have plenty to learn from them."
As I leave the school, I have the feeling that these children have given us a difficult and very important task. They have created a Children's Planet free from all discrimination, intolerance and injustice - can we adults do the same?
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