Dragoljub Davidovic, the Mayor of City of Banja Luka had talked with Elizabeth Rehn about International Baccalaureate organization Program Diplomma and vantages for middle-schools students in Banja Luka. Elisabeth Rehn visited Banja Luka as protector of United World Colleges initiative and IBO for for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The program IBO start on September this year (2006) in Gymnasium Banja Luka in third and fourth class.

The Mayor Dragoljub Davidovic said that IBO DP is good for the city affirmation, opening Banja Luka to World, and has various opportunities for young people. Via this program students and teachers could cooperate closely one by another, and our teachers may exchange experiences with international pedagogues.

In addition, the Program has exterior evaluation of the students, which means that school and the teachers do not mark student but "external examiner" - who do not know the students. This Program contains less numbers of subjects on middle-school level than we have now, and have specific approach to the subjects (for instance, the History subject has no books, and has no teach by teacher alone, but students on themselves search the subject from various resources). Program accept all world languages. That is to say, IBO has been going in ten world colleges and about thousand schools in more than 100 countries all over the world. IB curriculum is international paradigm in academic standards and professional development of teachers.

The meeting in the official building of Banja Luka. Opposite to Dragoljub Davidovic, from left: architect dr Milenko Stojakovic, principal of the Gymnasium Slavica Njezic-Ivosevic, translator Mirna Jancic, Elisabeth Rehn, DP Coordinator Rastko Vukovic.

Translated from Banja Luka official site by R.V.