The “Workshop Under the Open Sky”, an educational and pedagogical program for children, designed as educational programs for out-of-school interactive learning and ambient teaching, was held this year as well at the Royal Complex in Belgrade, today and the previous two days. A particularly memorable moment for elementary school pupils who took part in this year’s program was when the children were warmly welcomed at the Royal Palace by TRH Hereditary Prince Philip and Princess Danica.
Their Royal Highnesses welcoming participants at the home of the Royal family of Serbia was a very nice addition to the basic program of the workshop, an interactive story related to details and interesting facts from the life of the Karadjordjević Royal family. The concept aims to transform the Royal Compound in Dedinje into a kind of “living classroom,” giving pupils a unique opportunity to experience different roles that reflect everyday life at the Royal Palace. After touring the publicly accessible areas of the Royal Complex, the children visited the Palace itself, where they learned about royal etiquette and proper courtly behaviour. During this segment, titled “Bonton for the Young and the Grown-Up”, children are getting to know the proper etiquette at the Royal Court, but also what everyday life at the Palace looked like, and socialize with their peers in roles of King and Queen.
HRH Crown Prince Alexander has supported this program for years, and is very happy to again be able to open the doors of his family’s home for young guests, assured that they will bring back home a lot of long-lasting memories, and important knowledge about the past of the Karadjordjevics’, but also of Serbia’s history, tradition and customs.
“I was especially pleased that, as the grandson of the last Yugoslav King Peter II, I was able to share with the children stories about our heritage and life in the Royal Family. Their curiosity and smiles are the greatest reward and confirmation that it is important to cultivate knowledge, kindness and respect” said Hereditary Prince Philip.
The experience continued in the basement of the Royal Palace, a very special place at the Royal Compound, which leaves each visitor amazed, concluding with the workshop “Even Princes Go to School”. Here, the guide took the children back in time to the days when HM King Peter II was still a young Prince – curious, energetic, and playful, yet often lonely. The children discovered what his classroom looked like, how he studied, and what kinds of games he enjoyed. As a surprise, a costumed boy appeared in the role of Crown Prince Peter Karadjordjević, joining his peers and finally finding the group of friends he had always wished for.
The cultural and educational centre “Workshop under the open sky” has created and implemented educational programs for out-of-school interactive learning and ambient teaching. Through many years of research work, following the educational programs of preschool and school institutions, a project was carefully prepared that deals with education, upbringing, and culture in a unique way. The theme that served as inspiration for the Workshop team is “Discover Belgrade From A to Z”. The goal of the project is to get the students from Belgrade schools, as well as the schools throughout Serbia and the region, out of their classrooms and have them spend at least one teaching day a year in the improvised classrooms under the open sky, getting to know Belgrade and its surroundings through ambient-interactive learning that affirms spirituality, culture, history, tradition, and universal values.
