A two-day congress of German language teachers was held at the UNSA Faculty of Philosophy
The Association of German Language Teachers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHDLV) was the organizer of the 14th International Congress of German Language Teachers under the motto “Culture in Focus: Cultural Learning in German Language Teaching", which took place on 14 and 15 October at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Sarajevo.
The president of the Association and senior assistant of the Department of German Studies, Lara Hedžić, welcomed more than 150 participants and guests of the congress and emphasized the importance of exchanging contacts and continuous improvement in the teaching profession. Attendees were also addressed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Minka Džanko, Vice-Dean for NIR and MAS, and welcomed the Faculty of Philosophy, which hosted the congress this year as well. Welcome speeches were also given by the Minister of Education of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prof. Dr. Jasna Duraković, President of the International Association of German Language Teachers (IDV) Benjamin Hedžić, as well as H.E. Prof. Dr. Ulrike Hartmann, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria to BiH. The Congress was opened by Mr. Bernhard Abels, Deputy German Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The plenary lecture on the topic “Cultural learning in the teaching of the German language - current challenges in theory and practice” was held by renowned professor dr. Claus Altmayer from the University of Leipzig, and the speakers and participants of the congress were teachers and professors of the German language in primary and secondary schools, professional associates, advisers and mentors for the German language, and final year students from BiH, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia and Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As part of the congress, the project "Students become teachers" was held in cooperation with the BHDLV Association and the Goethe Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which teachers and students of the Department of German Studies from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina (Banja Luka, Bihać, Mostar, Pale, Tuzla and Zenica) participated.
During the two-day program, lectures, workshops and presentations were held, through which the participants could improve and be informed and exchange experiences about current events in this field. Teachers had the opportunity to get acquainted with new learning methods and establish new important contacts. As part of the congress, a fair was held where the most important institutions and publishing houses from the German-speaking area in BiH were presented. The International Congress of German Language Teachers (IDT 2025), which will be held in 2025 in Lübeck, Germany, has been announced and presented.
Before the very opening of the congress, on 13/10/2023, H. E. Dr. Thomas Fitschen, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, invited the organizers and guests of the congress to his residence and thus supported the work of the BHDLV Association, which has been successfully advocating for German language teachers in BiH and beyond for years. Thus, the current president of the International Association of German Language Teachers (IDV), Benjamin Hedžić, comes from this Bosnian association.
The patron and host of the congress was the Faculty of Philosophy, and the partners are the International Association of German Language Teachers (IDV), the Goethe Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Austrian Institute, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Embassy of the Republic of Austria, the Embassy of Switzerland, the Austrian Cultural Forum Sarajevo, the German Academic Service for the exchange of students and young scientists (DAAD), the publishing house Buybook, the publishing house Hueber, Deutsche Welle (DW), the Austrian Language Diploma (ÖSD), the Central Office for Education Abroad (ZfA) and the Ministry of Education, Science and Research of the Republic of Austria (BMBWF ).
