On May 22 and 23, the training for trainers on the topics of Water Sanitation Safety Planning (WSSP) and Microplastics was held successfully in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The participants included school directors and 15 teachers (covering the subjects: My Environment, Chemistry, Biology and English) from the region of Gornji Vakuv and its outskirts.

The event is part of the ongoing project “Risk management in the water, sanitation and microplastics sector in the Balkan region“, which is financially supported by Export Initiative Environmental Protection (EXI), a programme by BMUV Germany. The event was organized and actively supervised by EKOTIM’s Director Rijad Tikvesa. Microplastics was covered by the expert Elli-Maria Luud using the Compendium part D. Bistra Mihaylova from WECF was responsible for the overall topic of water and sanitation and MHM. The aim of the training was to provide the teachers with relevant knowledge and information related to the topics of water, sanitation and microplastics which they will introduce in their schools and communities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The event included discussions, presentations, group work and practical engagement, such as nitrate testing of 12 water sources according to the standards of the EU Nitrates Directive. Other practical activities were derived from the Compendium Part D. In addition; menstrual health was presented based on research carried out by a WECF partner, JHR, from North Macedonia. The event was held in English with a dubbed translation into Bosnian.

All in all the two day event was a success. Now our local partner and EKOTIM will work with the teachers to develop a program suitable for implementation in schools. This will be based on the Compendium A, B, C , D parts and shall be included in the respect of different school activities.