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MISSION FROM 2023
The Belgrade Open School (BOS) is a non-profit, educational organization of civil society founded in 1993.
BOŠ empowers and networks change-makers, improves public policies and brings together public, business and civil sectors in order to build a resilient society, based on knowledge, partnership and accountability.
VISION FROM 2023
Resilient society based on knowledge, partnership and accountability.
VALUES
- We initiate and accept changes and bring new ideas
- We achieve our goals responsibly
- We actively listen and communicate openly
- We acquire and share knowledge
- We set high standards in our work
Mission and vision up until 2023:
Mission
The Belgrade Open School (BOS) is a non-profit, educational organization of civil society founded in 1993.
BOS strengthens human resources, improves public policies and strengthens the capacity of the civil, public and business sectors in order to build a better society based on knowledge, accountability and public interest.
Vision
A better society based on freedom, knowledge and inovations.
Why Belgrade Open School?
"The formal education system provided by educational institutions cannot satisfy all the needs and desires for education. Therefore, there must be a conflict between the formal education system and personal needs and desires, which this system does not take into account.
Informal forms of education should be seen not only as a supplement to the formal education system but also as a critique of it: the right to rebel against an outdated and tired school never becomes obsolete, as well as the right to choose one's own life path.
The Belgrade Open School is not an ordinary school, although it is diligently taught. Namely, it does not educate a narrow expert who is hesitant to think and do anything outside his profession, but a developed person open to the future of the world.
That is why we stand for the School that develops critical thinking, and not for the School that nurtures passive memory: someone can remember a lot without understanding anything. We want our School not to come from narrow experts but from widely educated people: The School does not produce as many experts as it creates thoughts! We would like the basic method of our work to be patient and fruitful conversation, and not ex-catedra teaching: from the culture of speech to the culture of conversation! That is the only way that can guarantee that there will be no dogmatics among thinkers, fanatics among believers, and tyrants among politicians.
It is not a matter of teaching students mere knowledge, but of developing their will to learn. It is not about offering ready-made truths, but about developing a love of truth and life, truth and meaning. The sole goal of the School is not for students to know a lot, but to learn how to acquire knowledge. "
Prof Đuro Šušnjić
Belgrade, 1993.