Dr Anica Mikuš Kos from Ljubljana

Proposer: Dr Zoran Jelenc

Anica Mikuš Kos MD, a specialist in child psychiatry, dedicates herself to clinical work with children, adolescents and parents. She is the author of numerous books on mental health and community models of protection of children in cases of armed conflicts. She has already received many awards for her outstanding work and was among the nominees in the campaign ‘1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005'. She is the author of an educational model of voluntary work by young people in the service of people in distress, in a concept of civic and ethical education (for solidarity and action). In order to help children in areas facing military threats she has designed a programme for teachers the core of which are the knowledge and skills necessary to offer effective psychosocial help. Around 5,000 teachers from various crisis areas around the world (Kosovo, Iraq, the Caucasus) have taken part in the programme to date. She is currently endeavouring to enable the implementation of the programme in Pakistan and Darfur. She sees in the public school a bridge to children at risk and, in teachers, a factor of help. In her words: "In the past we saw the school above all as a causer of stress in children; today we look at it as a potential protective factor for children who have lived through a very bad experience. The main agens here is of course the teacher, who supports the child and helps him develop a better self-image. The protective role of the school environment is particularly important in the case of large-scale disasters. We first tested this starting-point when helping the children who came to us in 1992 as refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Naturally we first trained some hundreds of teachers so that they were able to help children in Bosnian schools. In this way we were able to offer a form of help to all children of compulsory school age! This programme is also a form of help for teachers that allows them to confront their own traumas and losses, to open themselves to teamwork, exchange experiences and good learning practices, and so on."