Education

Lessons From Srebrenica – Education Resources 

We aim to support teachers in Scottish schools use the events of the war in Bosnia in the 1990s to deliver lessons that help to educate pupils about the threat to society of toxic ideologies. We also aim to highlight the incredible humanity and resilience of the survivors of the war, inspiring Scottish learners through sharing their stories of resistance and survival in the face of genocide.  

We use the concept of the 10 Steps to Genocide in which learners are encouraged to think of genocide that develops incrementally. This increases their awareness of the significance of the early steps in the scale, which are around hate speech, division and categorisation of social and ethnic groups.  

Our resources are designed to be applicable in both the Broad General Education (BGE) and Senior Phase, and across multiple subjects. They can also support inter-disciplinary learning, for example across subject areas like RMPS, English (literature), Psychology, History, Modern Studies and Geography.  

Career Long Professional Learning (CLPL) 

One of the challenges we face in encouraging schools to include Bosnian history in the curriculum is the need for greater awareness amongst teachers about this period. The Bosnian genocide is not known to the same degree that other genocides, like the Holocaust, are. Even teachers with degrees in subjects like History and Politics will not necessarily have learned about the conflict, and it is a complicated period of history. The situation is further complicated by the varying degree of quality (and accuracy) of resources available online for teachers looking to enhance their content knowledge of the period. 

To support teachers with this, we created a single document that provides a narrative arc of the period, explaining the chronology of the war with key terminology, the central historical figures, and political geography all explained clearly and succinctly. The document concludes with recommended reading and viewing resources for further study. The document can be accessed here: 

The Bosnian War and the Srebrenica Genocide 

This resource is also appropriate for pupils to use as a textbook. 

Lesson Plans and Classroom Resources 

We appreciate that many teachers will wish to design their own lesson plans and resources, but we have provided a core sequence of lessons that can be adapted or used directly to support lesson delivery. We also have an education pack which contains material for lessons, linked to the Curriculum for Excellence, and we are in the process of updating this after it was first launched. 

We have also developed several multi-media resources which can support classroom learning, including: 

Schools Conferences 

We run conferences in schools which allow learners to gain in-depth knowledge of the Bosnian genocide, as well as concepts which are related to their wider learning. We work with schools who are willing to host, and we invite learners from nearby schools to come for a joint conference. Beyond Srebrenica provides the content and the speakers, and we often try to arrange conferences to tie in with visits to Scotland by survivors of the genocide. For example, at Portlethen Academy (September 2024) we brought together five schools from north-east Scotland to hear from Suvad Cibra, who was a child during the siege of Sarajevo.  

Our conference content typically covers these workshops: 

  1. The war in Bosnia – what happened and why? 
  1. Propaganda – what impact does it have in conflict zones? 
  1. Survivor testimony – the lived experience of a survivor of the Bosnian War. 
  1. Reflection – what have we learned and how can we challenge intolerance in our community? 

The conferences are also excellent CLPL opportunities for teachers, and we invite all teachers to attend them, even if they are not able to come with learners from their own school. 

National Competition 

In 2025 we launched our national competition to mark the 30th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica. The competition is available to all secondary-aged pupils across Scotland, with categories for the BGE and Senior Phase. Full details are available at this link. Award winners in the Senior Phase category will be given the opportunity to visit Bosnia as part of a Beyond Srebrenica schools’ delegation, with teachers from the learners’ schools being invited to attend as well. This is fully funded by Beyond Srebrenica.  

Schools Recognition Scheme 

We are working to develop a Schools Recognition Scheme with Vision Schools Scotland, so that we can recognise the schools that are supporting our work and educating their pupils about the Bosnian war and genocide. There are various ways in which schools can be recognised for their efforts, for example teaching lessons in the curriculum, holding commemoration events, and engaging with the national competition.  

Commemoration Events 

We hold commemoration events for Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27th), White Armband Day (May 31st) and the Srebrenica Genocide (July 11th). We invite school pupils and teachers to these events, and we have pupils as speakers and performers. For example, pupils from Aberdeen Music School in Dyce performed at White Armband Day (2024) and also Holocaust Memorial Day at the Scottish Parliament (2025). We are encouraging schools to hold their own assemblies and commemoration events as part of our Schools Recognition Scheme.  

Reach, Impact and Future Strategy 

We have developed a strong network of schools through our play Inseparable, with host schools now forming part of our direct communications. We have a mailing list of over 100 teachers across Scotland, and we have an Education Committee of teachers who are advising on resource development and future strategy. By building more capacity through expanding our number of teacher volunteers, we will be able to hold more events and develop more resources for schools across Scotland.