Michael Humphreys, Head of the European Commission Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, opened a conference on education organized by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in Sarajevo on 20-21 June 2005.

"Bosnia and Herzegovina is lagging behind in the implementation of the Bologna process", Humphrey said. "There are too many political debates [in this country] about education". In his introductory speech, he used the opportunity to request all institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina to act in a constructive manner during the forthcoming phases of the educational system's reform. He said that the only talks regarding the educational system in BiH are mere political debates, instead of constructive discussions on the actual needs of this sector. Humphreys stressed that the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina would be built on the qualifications and skills of workers, which is in accordance with European standards.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a participating member in the Bologna process. In addition to EU policy, the conference also was a forum for quality assurance, e-learning, and vocational guidance.  For example, the ETF discussed an initiative “Dissemination of the Cophenhagen Process” which essentially aims at further assisting in modernization.

The expected results of the ETF initiative are:

• Increased awareness of the European policy developments of the European policy developments in the field of VET;
• A bottom up and partnership approach for taking forward the VET reforms
• Increased opportunities for regional exchange of experience the themes of quality assurance, vocational guidance and e-learning.

Other presentations are available via the press release below. Future of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in qualifications of workers