European Regional Master's Degree in
Democracy and Human Rights in South East Europe

ERMA Class of 2011 – Graduation Ceremony

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The 32 students of the 10th generation of the European Regional Master's Degree in Democracy and Human Rights in South East Europe (ERMA) concluded the third term of the program which lasted from the 31 August until the 14 October. During this period the students stayed on the premises of the University of Bologna in Santa Sofia (FC) and had the opportunity to write their MA theses which they submitted on the 14th. The students defended their theses on the 27 and 28 October in Sarajevo in front of the professors of the ERMA program.

The third term was devoted mainly to the thesis writing process: students designed their research projects with the help of supervisors and academic tutors and had the chance of accessing the University Library "Ruffilli" in Forlì as well as the online database of the University of Bologna. They also attended several seminars dealing with diversity: Developing a Multi-Cultural Mindset by David Solomons, Creative Learning Consultants, London; Deliberation in Deeply Divided Societies, by Prof. Jürg Steiner from the University of Bern; Human Rights in Russia and its "near abroad": the case of Freedom to Peaceful Assembly by Prof. Nina Belyaeva (Higher School of Economics, Moscow) ; Gender Policy, Citizenship and Civil Society by Julie Mostov (Drexel University, Philadelphia) . Students attended the opening and closing ceremony of the 17th CEI International Summer School of Faenza Beyond Enlargement. The Wider Europe and the New Neighbourhood.

The third term was organized as well to give students the chance of getting to know each other, experience group life and team working. For this reasons, several trips were also planned to the surrounding cities (for example Bologna, where students visited the University and met the staffs of the international relations service) and to nearby attractions, such as the natural park in Ridracoli. Several meetings as well as group activities were planned to facilitate interpersonal communication and give students the chance to enjoy their staying.

On 11 September, the ERMA Council of Directors met in Santa Sofia to select the students for the academic year 2011/2012. Out of more than 70 applications, 30 students, coming from different countries of South-East Europe as well as EU countries, Georgia and Russia, were admitted to the program. A new academic partner, the Higher School of Economics, Moscow, was also welcomed. The Higher School of Economics will be involved in the organization of the ERMA program and will send lecturers during the first term of the new academic year.

The students of the 10th generation defended their Master theses on 27-28 October in Sarajevo. The graduation ceremony took place on 29 October, when the new academic year 2011/2012 was also inaugurated. The graduation ceremony was organised in the main all the Law Faculty of Sarajevo and gathered students of both the 10th ERMA generation and the new 11th generation.

The ceremony was a great opportunity for the Directors of the Programme, Professor Stefano Bianchini and Professor Zdravko Grebo to list the numerous achievements on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of ERMA. Particularly in their speeches the directors acknowledged the importance of the programme to attract young students originally from the region (particularly from Bosnia and Herzegovina) and living abroad, giving thus the opportunity of a 'brain gain' for the SEE countries. The ERMA students do often find great employment opportunities with Inter-governmental organizations such as the UN or the OSCE or as managers of non-governmental organizations and also as members of Institutions in their countries of origin.

The directors acknowledged as well the support of the European Parliament, and the grants offered by the European Commission and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as fundamental for the consolidation of the programme in the Balkan region despite of the complexity of the situation and the always numerous hampering factors such as the political divide and challenges presented by ethno-politics, regional features that actually strengthen the importance of the program which aims at educating young generations on the fulfillment and the protection of the Copenhagen criteria, thus contributing to carry out a future, well prepared, European minded, modern, and active ruling elite.

The ERMA Progamme 2011-2012, divided in three terms, started as 1st of November 2011. As mentioned above, 30 students from eastern and western Europe are enrolled; the first term will end in the midst of June 2012 and it is taking place in Sarajevo at the headquarters of the Center for Interdisciplinary Post-Graduate Studies.

The first term is devoted to lectures and seminars, articulated into 5 clusters. The first cluster focuses on Philosophy of Human Rights, the second on Democracy and Human Rights, the third on Ethnicity, Identity and Nationalism, the fourth on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, and the fifth on Mechanisms of Human Rights Protection and Implementation. In all these clusters the programme has an extensive European and global focus. Lectures last approximately four hours a day, during 28 weeks, under the direction of a Faculty set up by 30 professors and guest speakers coming from 14 countries; the insightful assistance of three tutors is greatly beneficial to the smooth realization of the programme.

Students are currently attending the first cluster's lessons and seminars and they are in process of finalising the first cluster paper which will be pivoted around human rights philosophical theories and theories on globalization.

The complete photographic gallery of the Graduation Ceremony can be broswed at picasaweb .

Barbara Chiarenza
Academic Tutor
European Regional Master's Degree in Democracy and Human Rights in South-East Europe,
Center for Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Studies, University of Sarajevo,
Istituto per l'Europa Centro-Orientale e Balcanica