The National Bureau for Textbooks and Teaching Aids – Podgorica, decided to publish for the first time in its history a comic book as a teaching aid. “Troubles with Rocky and Other Stories on Children’s Rights” – a comic book developed in 2013 within joint project “Children, Write to the Ombudsman!” carried out by HRA and the Protector of Human Rights And Freedoms (the Ombudsman) has been published as an addition to the textbook for subject Civic education for the sixth grade.

The National Bureau for Textbooks and Teaching Aids decided in December 2013 to make this comic book an additional teaching aid for subject Civic education in elementary schools in Montenegro. HRA and the Ombudsman, with the support of the Swiss Embassy, UNICEF and British Embassy, secured 16000 copies of the first edition for all students of the sixth and seventh grade of elementary schools.

Much enthusiasm has been invested into the project, and we are thrilled that “Troubles with Rocky and Other Stories on Children’s Rights” are recognised by students and gladly read.

The comic authors, selected by a public contest, are Svetozar Obradović from Novi Sad, Ante Krstulović from Split and children of the literature section of “Radomir Rakočević” Elementary School from Mojkovac: Valentina Stanić, Todor Raičević, Ivana Medojević, Anđela Stanić, Božidar Medojević, Anđela Medojević, Duško Zejak, Milan Filipović, with teacher Mariola Stanić. The comic book was drawn by Ilija Nikčević from Nikšić, academic artist.

We would once again like to thank all the donators who supported this project, as well as all those who enabled it to appear as an edition on the National Bureau for Textbooks and Teaching Aids.

About the comic book…

“The comic book Troubles with Rocky and Other Stories on Children’s Rights does not conceal problems existing in our society. On the contrary, the authors coped well with the greatest and the most frequent school and family problems of young people nowadays. Age identities of young people, which are, inter alia, formed by the media, as well as their contempt for all forms of rough didactics (to which, honestly, us teachers are prone to) motivated the authors of scenarios to speak openly in the comic book about: bullying, discrimination, domestic violence, the students’ participation in important decisions at school, the problems that young people have in connection with the “authorities.” (Nađa Durković, Instruction for using the comic book (in Montenegrin), Bureau for Textbooks and Teaching Aids)

“I was very happy when I read the comic book Troubles with Rocky and Other Stories on Children’s Rights. Especially as I think that children’s rights are very important, but little spoken of… I believe my peers will be happy as well…” (David, seventh grade student)

The first episode of the comic book (Troubles with Rocky) in English is available here.

HRA team