On Tuesday, November 29, 2022, the University of Zenica (UNZE) held the promotion of the book “Challenges of integrating gender equality in the university community: Against gender-based violence”, which brings the results of a large, regional research conducted as part of the project “University and Gender Mainstreaming (UNIGEM)”.
The survey included 4,754 respondents, including teaching and administrative staff, as well as students from all partner universities. For the interpretation of the collected data, the researchers used the most modern scientific multidisciplinary approach.
The editors of “The Challenge of Integration…” are full professors of the University of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Dr. Zilka Spahić Šiljak, Dr. Jasna Kovačević and Dr. Jasmina Husanović. The book was published in four languages (Bosnian, Montenegrin, Croatian and Serbian), and by the end of 2022 it will be promoted at each of the 19 partner institutions participating in the UNIGEM project.
The promotion in Zenica was attended by university staff and UNZE students. The promoters were full professors of the University of Zenica, and the introductory speech was given by the TPO Foundation Program Director Prof. Dr Zilka Spahić Šiljak, who emphasized the importance of the UNIGEM project and regional connectivity.
The promoter Professor Dr. Larisa Velić, dean of the UNZE Faculty of Law, also put an emphasis on the importance of this (and similar) research, as well as, on collaborative work on the institutionalization of gender equality.
The second promoter was Dr. Maša Alijevic, a professor at the Faculty of Law of UNZE, who presented the structure of the book, referring to each of the 12 chapters, while Professor Dr. Ilhan Bušatlić, vice-rector of UNZE, as the promoter focused on two topics: gender-sensitive language and the importance of ranking priorities in the field of gender equality, critically evaluating the broader social significance of dealing with certain aspects of gender equality. Taking into account not only this research but many other data sources, as well, Prof. Dr Bušatlić stated that many questions are still open regarding the integration of gender equality, and he personally is still looking for answers, especially to those questions related to the optimal use of gender-sensitive language in the university community. We would like to thank our project partner, the University of Zenica, for the cooperation, and especially for last night’s extremely interesting promotion of the results of the first research of a kind in BiH and the region. We hope that the interest of the academic public in this topic will continue to grow and to lead to new research in the field of gender.
