May 25, 2018 – Part of the education of Croatian schoolchildren is a visit to the city of Vukovar, as part of the Eighth Graders Visit Vukovar project, which is organised by The Memorial Centre of Homeland War Vukovar. A long but very educational journey for the pupils of the primary school of “Petar Kanavelić“.
As a part of the large educational project “Eighth Graders Visit Vukovar“, funded by the Ministry of Veterans, in which all the eighth graders in Croatia are involved, the pupils of the primary school of “Petar Kanavelić“ from Korčula have been visiting Vukovar for the last two days. It is the project in which they all learn about the values of the Homeland War and the Battle of Vukovar.
Although they have already learnt a lot about the Homeland War in the eighth grade, this is a memorable experience for both teachers and the pupils, and a great opportunity to learn about things they have only been listening about, this time from the people who experienced the War in the real sense of that word, in the authentic environment.
On the first day of their visit there are lectures on the War and the Battle of Vukovar. They also visit the Vukovar City Museum – Castle Eltz (where our kids are always so proud to see the costume of the Moreška dancers as the part of their folk costume collection) and the Vučedol Archeological Museum, with the impressive collection of the Vučedol culture (3000 -2200 BC) and the most famous ceramic vessel, the Vučedol Dove.
On the second day they visit the memorial locations:
The Vukovar Hospital, where pupils can see the multimedial presentation of life of the wounded people and medical staff during the occupation of Vukovar in the basement of the hospital, memorial home “ Ovčara “, the hangar where victims of this biggest massacre of the Homeland War spent their last hours, Memorial Cemetery of the victims of the Homeland War – the largest mass grave in Croatia, the memorial home of Croatian defenders at Trpanjska cesta and the Vukovar Water Tower – the reminder of the sufferings of Vukovar, the symbol of victory and life.
For our pupils, kids from Dalmatia, it is also a chance to see and get to know Slavonia, the part of our country with scenery, customs and the way of life pretty much different than theirs.
The project ends with the quiz and this year the pupils from our school of “Petar Kanavelić“ have won first place! Congrats!
The pupils are impressed by all they see since, for most of them, it is their first visit to Vukovar. They become fully aware of how heroic the city of Vukovar is and what an immense role it played in the creation of our country. But, also very important, since they are fourteen and fifteen years old, that is the best time for them to learn how to appreciate what they have, how to tolerate and accept others and see a person in every man, not just gender, race or nationality. Let`s hope that is something they will carry into their lives and spread it further, affecting others with their positivity and tolerance.
We wish them a safe journey home since it takes approximately thirteen hours by bus to get to Korčula, so it is a three, not two – days excursion for us from the island. Not to mention they must be pretty tired since a disco night was included as well!
