From March 28 to March 30, 2019, Marijanca Ajša Vižintin, PhD, a research associate of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, was our guest in Banja Luka.
She is employed at the Institute for Slovenian Migration, and is engaged in intercultural education and upbringing. She prepared three lectures. Adults listened to a lecture on migrating to Slovenia and migrating from Slovenia. It is generally believed that only those with lower education immigrate to Slovenia, while those with higher education are emigrating, but statistical data does not confirm this. Education of immigrants and emigrants in 2017 was similar: more than half of people have secondary education, about a quarter of them have elementary or higher secondary education. 17,555 people migrated from Slovenia, and 18,808 moved in. Among the 15,500 immigrants who did not have Slovenian citizenship, there were 40% of people from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The title of the lecture for high school students was the Integrated Identity of Migrants and Their Descendants. Many high school students see the continuation of their lives in Slovenia, and they were interested in the experience of those who moved to Slovenia. Overcoming prejudices and coping with cultural differences is an important part of education. Also, on this topic, guest lecturer Marijanca Ajša Vižintin teaches in pedagogical colleges in Slovenia within the national project "Only with others we exist". She also talked with high school students about the "year plus" that students from the University of Ljubljana who come to Slovenia from other countries can join.
