Small Parliament at Ivo Andrić Primary School in Belgrade

As part of the KA1 Erasmus project "Together with European Values for a Better Education," implemented at Ivo Andrić Primary School in Belgrade, a Small Parliament was established as the final product of the project. Since the school already had a Student Parliament comprising 7th and 8th graders, the project participants recognized the need for younger students to be introduced to European democratic values and the principles of democratic functioning. The Small Parliament was formed with representatives from all third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade classes (ages 9 to 12). The students were introduced to the project, its objectives, and its contents, and the role of the Small Parliament was explained—to contribute to a better school life through the activism of younger students.
The first activity was the election for the parliament logo. Twenty proposals were submitted, and the selection of the best logo was conducted via Google Forms voting by all students from the 3rd to the 6th grade. The winning design, along with all other submissions, was displayed in the school hall. The authors of the top designs received prizes donated by Comtrade System Integration:
- 1st place - Elena Nikolov, 5/3, received a tablet.
- 2nd place - Mila Obradović, 3/2, received headphones.
- 3rd place - Una Miljanović, 5/6, received a USB drive.
The next activity involved presenting proposals from all classes for a project that the Small Parliament would carry out during the 2023/24 school year. It was decided to renovate the schoolyard by painting and decorating the concrete figures—benches located there. The project was implemented in June, with participation from teachers and students in the 3rd and 4th grades.
Within the Erasmus project framework, an eTwinning project was also carried out, focusing on international cooperation between schools from Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia, and Turkey. The members of the Small Parliament participated in designing and selecting the project logo, presenting our school, the Serbian educational system, key features, and landmarks of Serbia and Belgrade, and creating short films showcasing Serbian customs, traditions, culture, and national cuisine.
Given that one of the parliament's goals was to develop empathy, tolerance, and acceptance of differences, the members of the Small Parliament initiated and implemented the commemoration of important dates:
- International Day Against Bullying - Pink Shirt Day was observed on February 28. The Small Parliament members informed their classmates about the event that initiated the observance of this day and showed a short film, "Pink Shirt Day - Stop Bullying!" created by students from class 4/4 with their teacher. On this day, students wore pink shirts, and the school hall displayed posters with anti-bullying messages on pink paper shirts made by each class.
- International Down Syndrome Day - Rock Your Socks Day was observed on March 21. Representatives of the Small Parliament showed a film about sunflower children prepared by students from classes 4/1 and 3/4 with their teachers during homeroom sessions. Students wore colorful socks on this day, and posters with messages about respecting diversity were placed in the school hall.
- World Autism Awareness Day - Light It Up Blue was observed on April 2. Members of the Small Parliament, Đurđa Tomić, Mia Simišić, and Anđela Kovačević, prepared and recorded an interview with the school's special educator to educate the students on the topic. Students from the 3rd and 4th grades created a puzzle-shaped tree from cardboard and prepared colored puzzle pieces on which students from the 5th and 6th grades wrote affirmative messages about their attitude towards individuals on the autism spectrum. The puzzle tree was displayed in the school hall, and students wore blue shirts on this day.
The implementation of this project motivated students to participate in creating a better working environment through the application of democratic principles and European values. It is evident that the work of the Small Parliament has positively influenced the school life of all students, either directly or indirectly, making the inclusion of younger students in parliamentary activities another example of good practice.




