04/07/2025
💚 Održana edukacija o mentalnom zdravlju i Živa Knjižnica za američke studente 💚
(ENG below)
📝 U srijedu, 2. srpnja 2025., u Dubrovniku je održan cjelodnevni program posvećen mentalnom zdravlju, u organizaciji Udruga Bonsai i Lukjernica, te u suradnji s Academic Program International. Program je bio namijenjen američkim studentima, a uključivao je jutarnju edukaciju te popodnevnu Živu Knjižnicu.
📝 Jutarnji dio edukacije bio je posvećen temama koje obuhvaćaju:
zakonodavni okvir vezan uz mentalno zdravlje u Hrvatskoj, uključujući zakone i podzakonske akte, različite vrste institucija dostupne osobama s problemima mentalnog zdravlja,
predstavljanje Udruge Lukjernica i njenog doprinosa lokalnoj zajednici,
osobno svjedočanstvo osobe s iskustvom mentalne bolesti.
📝 Ova edukacija omogućila je studentima dublje razumijevanje hrvatskog sustava mentalnog zdravlja, kao i uvid u važnost uloge civilnog društva i osobnog iskustva u borbi protiv stigme.
📝 U popodnevnim satima, u prostorijama Centra za djecu, mlade i obitelj Dubrovnik, održana je Živa Knjižnica, inovativna metoda borbe protiv predrasuda i diskriminacije. “Živa Knjižnica” funkcionira poput prave knjižnice: posjetitelji pregledavaju katalog, biraju “knjigu” – odnosno osobu s jedinstvenim životnim iskustvom – i "čitaju" kroz razgovor u trajanju od 30 minuta. Nakon toga, knjigu mogu "vratiti" i posuditi drugu.
Kao i svaka knjižnica, Živa Knjižnica ima svoje knjižničare, volontere, koordinatore i promotore. Udruga Bonsai provodi ovu metodu u Dubrovniku više od pet godina te je organizirala i dva sedmodnevna treninga na temu organizacije Žive Knjižnice. Prva Živa Knjižnica u Dubrovniku održana je još 2014. godine, u sklopu konferencije „Growing with children's rights“, s ciljem približavanja stvarnih priča o djeci i njihovim pravima široj javnosti.
Udruga Bonsai ovim putem zahvaljuje svim volonterima na iznimnom doprinosu u organizaciji događaja, kao i svim posjetiteljima – "čitateljima" – na njihovoj pažnji, otvorenosti i entuzijazmu.
Udruga Lukjernica
__________________________
💚 Mental Health Education and Human Library Held for American Students in Dubrovnik 💚
📝 On Wednesday, July 2, 2025, a full-day program focused on mental health took place in Dubrovnik, organized by the associations Bonsai and Lukjernica, in cooperation with Academic Program International.
📝 The event was tailored for American students and included a morning educational session followed by an afternoon Human Library.
📝The morning session covered a range of topics, including:
an overview of laws and regulations related to mental health in Croatia,
types of institutions available to individuals living with mental illness,
presentation of the work and community contributions of the association Lukjernica,
a personal testimony from someone with lived experience of mental illness.
This educational segment provided students with valuable insights into the Croatian mental health system, the role of civil society organizations, and the importance of personal stories in fighting stigma.
In the afternoon, the Human Library took place at the Youth Center Dubrovnik. The Human Library is an innovative tool designed to challenge prejudice and discrimination. It operates just like a traditional library: visitors can browse a catalog of available “books,” choose one, and “borrow” it for a limited time (30 minutes). The key difference is that in the Human Library, the books are real people, and “reading” consists of one-on-one conversations.
As with any library, the Human Library includes librarians, volunteers, promoters, and coordinators. Association Bonsai has been organizing Human Libraries in Dubrovnik for over five years and has led two week-long training courses on how to implement this method of combating discrimination. The first Human Library in Dubrovnik was held in 2014 as part of the “Growing with Children's Rights” conference, with the aim of sharing real-life stories about children’s rights and the many ways in which we work to protect and promote them.
Bonsai extends sincere thanks to all the volunteers who made this event possible, as well as to the students who participated with such attention, openness, and enthusiasm.
