Making change

By Milan Matthes Kale

Our last full day in Kosovo passed at a whirlwind pace—filled with two group meetings, free time, packing, an emotional dinner, and a last night out. Beginning at our usual time of 09:30, we eschewed the NewBorn sign, meeting instead in front of the government building where we had met the Prime Minister only days earlier. It was also here that we met for our second meeting of the day, only 30 minutes after the first ended, having just enough time to enjoy a delicious and affordable macchiato—at an average of 70 cents to 1 euro. 

Our second meeting of the day was with Elizabeth Gowing—an author, award-winning activist, founder of The Ideas Partnership, and most recently the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Community Affairs. Upon entering the building, the usual quietness filled the group as we each handed over our passports and went through security. Upon completion we were met by Elizabeth who led us back into the same room where we had met Prime Minister Kurti. The seating order was different, and the microphones used to speak no longer sparking little hellos and giggles, but Elizabeth's words rang powerful. She told us of how she, a British woman, ended up where she was today, emphasizing important life lessons along the way such as, how much more effective and meaningful work with local communities is when you do not show up with an agenda but actually come to learn and listen. It is about not viewing this work as a point on a checklist, but a time to gain understanding and where locals can identify their needs, and act based on their voices. She emphasized the importance of not speaking for local communities as an outsider, instead amplifying the voices of those who don’t have the same privileges. A final important lesson she left us was both helping in the long term—ie advocating and lobbying for legal changes—and in the short term—ie directly impacting one person. As we left our final meeting within Kosovo, the class was abuzz—Elizabeth's powerful words had been the final message that tied so much of what we had learned together.

Several hours later, with most people packed for the next day's travel to Amsterdam, the group came together for dinner where it all began, the Rings Restaurant in Pristina. 

People sat generally where they had the first dinner—a nostalgic continuity accentuated by the variance of positioning in other dinners—and we shared a jovial meal. Once we finished eating, the emotions of a beautiful journey were not long in coming. Anne called out “speech,” her voice having returned since the first few days of the trip, and a hush fell over us as we listened to her reflections on the trip and to those she has had with past classes, hearts swelling as we knew her warnings before we left had come true. How would we ever explain this to our friends who asked us questions of what we had learned here? It feels impossible as the obvious, the physical can be explained, the weather, our schedule, the many puppies (yes grown dogs are puppies too), but how could the inspiration, the connection, and the growth be put into words that would do the experience justice? 

This was one of the common sentiments that came from each of our reflections about what had changed for us during this trip, voices breaking the emotionally taut silence at random, to reflect. Before leaving for Kosovo, the group was permeated by a general anxiety of not being close enough to people, which, to the surprise of nearly everyone in the group, had been ameliorated. The kindness, compassion, openness, and acceptance shared between June Peace Lab 2023 had succeeded. Tears spilled and voices cracked as people spoke of their experiences prior to coming, their worries, and the great relief these friendships gave them. Yet, it was not only the kindness of those in our class that had captivated us, but the kindness and welcoming nature of Kosovo and its people. The plethora of wisdom and advice we had learned—from the importance of not letting parts of ourselves go just to make change, like forgetting our love for the arts, to the importance of young voices like our own in change making—will last us a lifetime.