At yesterday’s meeting, the National Bureau for Education unanimously decided to include the comic book on children’s rights “Troubles with Rocky and other stories about children’s rights” as teaching material in elementary schools in Montenegro for sixth and seventh grades. The comic book is finished and will be printed within the project “Children write to the Ombudsman”, jointly implemented by the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms and NGO Human Rights Action (HRA), and supported by UNICEF and the Swiss and British embassies.

This timely decision of the National Bureau will ensure that pupils get more familiar with the comic book in the second semester of this school year.

Comic book topics were selected from letters children sent to the Ombudsman. The authors of the scenario and graphic design were elected by the committee consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Education (Tamara Milić), Bureau for Education Services (Radoslav Miločević ATOS), Bureau for Textbooks (Nađa Durković), UNICEF (Nela Krnić-Brković), Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms (Nevenka Stanković and Duška Šljivačanin) and Human Rights Action (Tea Gorjanc Prelević and Anđelija Lučić). Authors of the comic book are – writers: 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, painter and graphic designer.

We are very pleased with the decision of the National Bureau for Education to allow the use of the comic book in teaching on human rights in Montenegrin schools and we congratulate everyone who contributed to this success. We believe that the comic book will contribute to children’s understanding of human rights and their ongoing motivation to exercise their human rights, and help others around them in exercising their rights.

Nevenka Stanković,
Deputy Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms of Montenegro

Tea Gorjanc Prelević,
NGO Human Rights Action Executive Director

Cover page of the comic book on children’s rights “Troubles with Rocky and other stories about children’s rights”: