Last day in virtual Kosovo

19 June 2020

By Britt Bom

Today, on our very last day in ‘virtual Kosovo’, we met with Jack and Iliriana from Kosovo 2.0; an independent media organization that publishes about a wide variety of topics and advocates for human rights, inclusive participation, and media freedoms. Through print and online magazines, Kosovo 2.0 explores the current situation in Kosovo and its surrounding region. The organization has recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and publishes in three languages: Serbian, Albanian, and English. Working with these three languages is rare for journalism platforms in Kosovo but comes with the benefit of not only including all citizens of Kosovo, but also being accessible to English-speaking people from other parts of the world. 

Both Jack and Illiriana were very kind, passionate, and knowledgeable which meant that our usual round of questions was responded to with very elaborate answers. What I liked is that Illiriana explained how they strive for personal stories, meaning that if they publish an article that concerns discrimination towards Roma and Ashkali people, for example, they make sure that it is written by someone coming from one of these backgrounds. I think that this is important because people who have experienced it, are in my opinion, more suitable to tell the story. Moreover, this way people from minorities get to represent their own voices, rather than a ‘third party’ telling stories about lives they did not live and things they have not experienced.

Our virtual trip through Kosovo has been a very meaningful experience that I think has inspired and triggered many of us to go there by ourselves one day. Maybe we’ll be able to get internships, do volunteer work or just go there to see what else Kosovo has to offer. One thing I do know, and what has become very clear through our meetings, is that Kosovar people are very welcoming and kind, but also thankful to share their stories with us.

In the coming week, we will be focusing on finishing our projects, which we will present to each other on Thursday and Friday. After that, Peace Lab 2020 is done. It has been an interesting experience, for which I would like to thank Anne, Nini, and all of the organizations and people that took the time to speak with us and educate us about Kosovo, so: THANK YOU! It has been eye-opening, educational and fun!