The Government decided today to contribute SEK 2.6 million to a new regional centre in Slovenia which will work with children in the Western Balkans. Sweden will finance a sub-project for training teachers to work with children suffering from trauma after their distressing experiences of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Yugoslavia.

The grant is part of the Government's international efforts to support children in vulnerable situations. The project is run primarily by the Slovene Philantropy organisation which has taken part in a series of rebuilding initiatives in the Balkans.

"The children's centre will carry out vital work for children who have suffered traumatic experiences during the war years," says Minister for Development Cooperation, Migration and Asylum Policy Jan O. Karlsson.