Monthly Archives: October 2013

Kosovo couple raises awareness about Autism

As awareness about autism in our motherland increases one step at a time, an Albanian couple living in the United States helps bring even more attention on this concerning mental condition.

Two days ago, Shpresa and Rexhe Xhakli held a garage sale for a special issue. Even though their step was rather petite and modest, it reached all the way to Kosova. This garage sale helped to raise the hopes of children affected with autism in our country, as all the money gained from the event will fund ‘Autizmi’, one of the few NGO’s dealing with this community.

On the other hand, the families of children with autism in our country often feel hopeless as they deal with financial problems as long as lack of information and rights ways of treatment for autism.

Nevertheless, the Xhakli couple wants to make a positive impact. Interviewed by lajmi.net, mrs. Xhakli explains that alongside with other reasons, this initiative is also a personal one for Shpresa and her family. “Our son Arben, who is now 24 years old, needed special care in development and education, since he also has autism. Thus, I want to offer a helping hand to other mothers who went to similar experiences, raising a child with autism.” – Shpresa explains.

Shpresa will be in Kosovo next week, where she will continue her impact while helping the NGO ‘Autizmi’ through an fundraising event that will be held in Hotel Emerald in Prishtina during the 12^th of October, at 19:00 pm.

Mrs. Xhakli is planning to continue her cooperation with ‘Autizmi’ and other organizations that will be willing to help.

The “Autizmi” association plans to build four new schools in the future for children with autism. The buildings that will be located in four different cities, will be equipped with special inventory and also a trained staff that will give life to the required education for these children.

The original article was written by Drilon Gashi, posted at Lajmi.net. Click here to read the original article

Kosovo-born famous knight: breaking records in Scadinavia

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Lutfi “Ludde” Kolgjini also known as the famous knight and trainer within the sport of harness in Scandinavia. He recently broke a world record after wining Grand Prix de I’UET in Solvalla with his horse Face Mosaique. The same day, just one hour before he won Juggle Face, Prix Ovidius Naso on Vincennes. This results in a profit of 2.1 million kronors.

In 1948, the Kolgjini family moved from the communist Albania to Kosovo for a better future and it was there, in Kosovo, where Lutfi Kolgjini was born in 1948. In the swedish radioprogram “sommarpratarna” (summertalkers) on P1, Lutfi talks about how the Kolgjini family were great breeders of sheeps and donkeys in Albania. His father continued breeding animals in Kosovo and it was then when as a 6-7 year old sheepherd Lutfi became an animal lover. Around 8 years old, his parents decided to move abroad to a country he never heard of.

In the radio show Lutfi continues to tell about growing up from a shepherd to one of the most famous knights Soch trainer within the sport harness in Europe, especially Scandinavia. At the age 16, he had already decided that he wanted to work with horses and that one day he would buy his own. The passion for horses grew steady and Lurfi spent all his free time reading about horses and how to train them.

While his family wanted him to become a doctor, Lutfi pursued his dream and bought his first horse. He went from a shepherd to a busboy, to finally owning one of the most successful company in Sweden, the Lutfi Kolgjini AB’ . This process demanded strong will and determination which he’s grown into. For those who understand Swedish, you can hear more about Lutfi Kogjini podcast, visit http://sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/116718?programid=2071

Lutfi has build a name through his years in Sweden. The swedish television channel made a documentary about him and Mr Kolgjini was also chosen as the coach of the year at the horsegala 2010. Not the least, one of the summer talkers on swedish radio P1. Through his work he brings attention to his background as a proud Albanian, wearing the eagle on front of his helmet. It is easy to understand that Kosovo will always have that special place in his heart.

Kosovo Youth Exchange Program: an opportunity for cross-cultural exchange

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The Kosovo Youth Exchange Program (KYEP) is a collaborative effort funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Cleveland Council on World Affairs (CCWA). The program brings accomplished students from Kosovo who are highly proficient in English to study in American high schools for one year. KYEP focuses on cross-cultural exchange and the development of leadership skills. Students are placed with host families and attend local schools for one academic year.

This unique exchange program will award up to 16 high school students from Kosovo the opportunity to live and study in the United States for the 2014-15 academic year.

APPLICANT MUST:

* Be a secondary school student in Kosovo who has not completed more than 11 years of primary and secondary study, exclusive of kindergarten and will still have one year left of high school upon return, is at least 15 years of age, but not more than 18 years and six months of age as of the program start (August 2013).

* Commit to maintaining residency in Kosovo for two years after returning home from the exchange program

* Have a working knowledge of English

* Be an active leader in his/her school or community

* Have confidence to represent his/her town, region, and country as a youth ambassador

* Demonstrate maturity, good character, and scholastic aptitude

* Have an open mind and an interest in traveling to the USA for an academic year

* Have not previously participated in an academic year or semester secondary school student exchange program in the United States or attended school in the United States on either F–1 or J–1 visa status.

WHAT WILL BE COVERED?

* Roundtrip international airfare

* Domestic US airfare to and from host city

* Housing with American host family

HOW TO APPLY:

Go to http://www.ccwakyep.org/#!vstc0=apply to apply online, or http://www.ccwakyep.org/#!vstc1=page-2/vstc0=forms to download paper forms.

DEADLINE: March 1, 2013

Love.State.Kosovo

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There is very little interest for Kosovo in Western Europe, maybe even no interest at all. That is enough reason for Beatrice Fleischlin and Antje Schupp to drive to Kosovo, as an initiative for their project that addresses exclusion in Kosovo.They observed Kosovo’s complex, political and social occurrences through their personal and naïve Western lenses/perspective. They processed their experiences and impressions through a performance, together with two Kosovars, Astrit Ismaili (performance artist) and Labinot Rexhepi (dancer). Their play, “Love. State. Kosovo”, does not only mirror the group’s personal perspective, but ,with a wink, also addresses the issue of drawing and crossing boundaries in the field of artistic team play.

It’s not the first time that the Swiss author and performer Beatrice Fleischlin and the German director Antje Schupp are working together. Their last joint project was dedicated to love. This time, they focus on Kosovo, the youngest state in Europe, and the development processes that it’s been going through. “There is very little interest for Kosovo in Western Europe, maybe even no interest at all. The very name sounds so distant, as if one was talking about the moon. The name reminds of minefields, toothless elderly, and crisis. In the eyes of Western Europeans, Kosovo is a lost case. No one expects that ‘those down there’ will experience development any time soon. They don’t even have access to the coast. But once you have been there, you realize that there exists such a thing as a daily life, and people even posses cars. That’s when you realize how stuck you were in your notion about the unknown”. This is the starting point as described according to Fleischlin and Schupp. So, both performers went off to Kosovo in summer 2012 for their first research trip. A young country in every respect: The average age of Kosovo’s population is 27. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence. It’s independence, however, has been recognized by barely half of the UN’s member states.

They observed Kosovo’s complex, political and social occurrences through their personal and naive Western lenses. They found a country that has a very special relationship to Switzerland. They processed their experiences and impressions through a performance, together with two Kosovars, Astrit Ismaili (performance artist) and Labinot Rexhepi (dancer). Their play, “Love. State. Kosovo”, does not only mirror the group’s personal perspective, but, humorously, also addresses the issue of drawing and crossing boundaries in the field of artistic team play.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/75806112]

For more information, please visit: Zuercher Theater Spektakel here