Category Archives: Education

Suzanna Shkreli gives a voice to the voiceless with her motivation and success

Leave a reply

The daughter of Albanian immigrants from Montenegro, Suzanna Shkreli is the embodiment of the American Dream thanks to her hard work and dedication.  After finishing law school at the age of 24, she became a lawyer in Macomb County, Michigan prosecuting homicide, drug crimes, assaults, and domestic violence. Her determination propelled her in the national limelight when she ran for the U.S. Congress in 2016.

The congressional race for Michigan’s 8th district was important, not only for Suzanna but also the community that she sought to represent in Washington.  When asked about the main points of her campaign, she said:

“I fought for Michigan’s middle class families by focusing on the issues that affected them. I wanted to help grow the economy, by supporting small businesses that would create good-paying jobs, and strengthen our middle class. I spent my childhood helping my family’s diner grow and I know that small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities.

I fought for the full development of our renewable energy sources, and sought to move us closer to full energy independence. By utilizing new technology and reconfiguring our energy sources, we can create new good jobs and serve as an example on combating climate change without sacrificing economic growth.

Another major issue that was foundational to my platform was fighting to build a strong public education system that will provide students with the skills they need to compete in the 21st century global economy. Improving schools and ensuring the best education possible for Michigan families starts with investing in our schools from pre-kindergarten to high school graduation and beyond. Access to quality educational opportunities is key, but affordability issues must also be addressed to ensure every child in Michigan can succeed. As a product of Michigan’s public schools and universities, I believes we must make college and higher education more affordable for everyone who wants to earn a college degree.

I fought for women. In Congress, I wanted to vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which protects domestic abuse survivors. I wanted to pass legislation like the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, which further prevents discrimination in the workplace. Most importantly, I believe women are able to make their own health care decisions and am dedicated to fighting back against politicians who want to outlaw a woman’s right to choose.”

Suzanna has since returned to her job to give a voice to the defenseless by prosecuting crimes against children in the Child Protection Unit. When asked about her job, she says this with full confidence: “It is a difficult job and heavy on my heart, but I find a great sense of fulfilment in being able to advocate for children in the courtroom. I am in a position to defend the defenseless, to give a voice to those who might not otherwise have it, and to give those children a piece of mind that their perpetrator won’t be able to hurt them again. That work has been the honor of my life.”

Suzanna is thankful for her parents who worked hard to ensure that their children could pursue in a high-quality education that would open doors to a bright future. As an Albanian-American, she is conscious and proud of her heritage.  Her background shaped her political identity from an early age. As a child, she watched President Clinton’s statement and commitment to end the ethnic cleansing and humanitarian crisis in Kosovo. This solidified in her the values and principles of what it means to be American – that a democratic, free and independent nation would stand to protect those in need.  

During her congressional campaign, Suzanna was endorsed by President Obama, who understood and appreciated the history of friendship between Albanians and Americans. She also introduced President Clinton at a rally in Michigan during Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.  

Many young Albanians, especially girls, reached out to Suzanna to tell her the positive impact she had made on their lives by emboldening them to fight for what they believe in.  “Losing is hard, but moments like that fill me with pride and remind me of how vital it is to keep going,” she said. “The fight for justice and a better tomorrow is an honorable fight, and an achievable reality no matter where you live, and that we owe it to one another to pursue it together.”

Albanian Diaspora in America

Suzanna believes that the role of the diaspora in America and abroad should be to create organizational support for Albanians across the world to advance in all areas of life such as growing businesses or running for public office.

“The diaspora should be unified as first and foremost, we are all Albanians, regardless whether we are originally Malesia Madhe, Macedonia, Albania, or Kosovo,” she said.

She remembers how the diaspora came together to help during the war in Kosovo and calls for similar mobilizations for other causes. “The diaspora has not coalesced around a cause of that magnitude since, and it is time to do so again. There are many causes for Albanians to fight for, whether it be integration into the EU or access to medical treatment in Albanian lands. These issues need the attention and dedication of the diaspora, and we cannot wait until there is a tragedy to spring into action. There is a new and vibrant generation that is eager for change and opportunity, and with the commitment of the diaspora, a better tomorrow exists for Albanians worldwide.”

She suggests that Albanians should strengthen their own networks by providing opportunities to the younger generation, their communities and abroad. For example, business owners can provide the chance for young Albanians to work at their facilities and have them learn their trade and hone their skills.

It is evident that Suzanna is committed to contributing to making the world a better place. She has the will to fight for what is right and the fire to carry on.

Dr. Kadriu’s Successful Landing at the Forefront of Science

Leave a reply

Within the corpus of inspiring articles about successful professionals from Kosovo, the story of Dr. Kadriu is a must. Born and raised in Kosova, Dr. Kadriu attended the University of Prishtina where he received his doctoral degree from the Faculty of Medicine in 2004. Witnessing the horrible ravages of war and its psychological impact on people’s minds, he noticed that each individual’s experience of the same trauma was fundamentally different. Intrigued by questions related to the neurobiological substrate of mental illnesses, Dr. Kadriu decided to pursue his career in the United States.

From 2004-2011, Dr. Kadriu worked under the exceptional mentorship of Drs. Erminio Costa and Guidotti at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he examined the dysfunction of cellular brain changes in psychosis and mood disorders.  His time as a Postdoctoral and Research Scientist at UIC was highly productive and results in Dr. Kadriu publishing several works in high impact peer review journals. He then moved to New York City, where he worked for two years at the Kennedy Center in the Department Of Neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.  

In 2013, Dr. Kadriu started his residency in neuropsychiatry, completing his first three years of his training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine while working with some of the most challenging patients and gaining a strong, comprehensive foundation in clinical training.  During his residency, Dr. Kadriu won several awards, including Resident of the Year Award, Resident Teacher of the Year Award as well as the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Outstanding Resident Award Program. The last ultimately landed him in his current position as the Clinical Fellow at the National Institute of Health,  the world’s most specialized research center for medicine.

At the  NIMH, Dr. Kadriu and his colleagues are gathering pilot data to identify putative biomarkers for depression and suicidality. He believes that this work is at the forefront of global public health research. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 16 million Americans suffer at least one major depressive episode annually and about 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression. In fact, depression is the leading cause of disability and suicide in the US and worldwide. His ultimate career goal is to identify the most efficacious acute interventions for depressed patients. In close collaboration with Dr. Carlos Zarate (a world-leading expert) and his colleagues at the NIMH, he is actively working to develop new drugs that have rapid antidepressant actions such as ketamine. The final goal of the research is to identify the exact mechanism by which ketamine and its metabolites relieve depressive symptoms, thereby helping to develop the next generation of fast-acting (within hours) antidepressant medications.

Dr. Kadriu’s passion for science is palpable and steadfast. He wishes to pursue a career in academic psychiatry, combining basic and clinical research with practical work and teaching. In recognition of his accomplishments, this year alone Dr. Kadriu received several important awards, including a 2017 Career Development Institute for Psychiatry Award, a 2017 ASCP New Investigator Award and an APA research colloquium award. 

Dr. Kadriu has also already achieved two awards this year, the SOBP 2018 Domestic Travel Fellowship Award and the ADAA 2018 Alies Muskin Career Leadership Program (CDLP).  He will be speaking at the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP) in Vienna on the 19th of June. Busy, to say the least, Dr. Kadriu is currently a licensed physician in the State of Maryland, where he lives with his family.

Diaspora Flet Conference

Diaspora: Partners Towards Better Futures

Leave a reply

“Sometimes we feel we straddle two cultures; at other times, that we fall between two stools.”
― Salman Rushdie, Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991

 

I start with this quote as it resonates well with what it feels like being someone that left Kosovo 26 years ago. Upon reflection on the years behind me, I have experienced a lot of change and gone through a number of identity transformational eras. You learn to live with the process of being in between, either straddling between two cultures or lifting yourself up from between two stools.

So, this journey has taken me to the doors of Germin. They found me on Google and their offer to be part of ‘something bigger’ grabbed my attention. They speak my ‘language’ and they listen very carefully to my critical remarks. Strangely, they don’t want money out of me or a ‘freebie’ service. They want to give voice to all diaspora members, and it’s not all about politics or investments but more about us, the ‘inbetweeners’, who juggle their identity between the concepts ‘foreignness’ and being of ‘jasht-ness’.

What do I mean?

‘Foreignness’ is the struggle to be accepted in the lands that continuously reject you, whether through immigration policies or socio-economic exclusion. It is about moving forward, working hard and creating ‘owned’ opportunities, while developing a resilience that comes from the burden of ‘foreignness’. Besides the goal to survive and support families back home, our children need to grow, to succeed and return to their homeland and to make it better for all! Dreams are handed over to our children, along with the burden of being already-born-and-torn between the ‘foreignness’ and ‘jasht-ness’.

‘Jashtness’ is about me, the activist, the changemaker and dream chaser – I go back and I push hard for positive change, regardless of the ongoing discriminatory comments (‘shatzis’ or ‘darlingat’) or sometimes consuming a very expensive ‘fli’ because of my ‘richness’. I give back, despite being frustrated by the investments and freebies I’m expected to give, blackmailed by the guilt of having left my country behind. It is about me, the mother of my immigrant children, who are sometimes laughed at because of their immigrant traceable accents. It is about my kids, the less-famous immigrant children, with their diplomas and dreams to make their homelands better, for themselves and their parents.

So, Germin becomes the essential middle-ground, the enabler, the negotiator, the voice of all. Germin understand the traceable-accents of the inbetweeners and provide us with a voice through ‘Diaspora Flet’. This is the very first organisation that allows me to shine my own beacon, for my own dreams. It removes my ‘jashtness’ and my ‘foreignness’ and bring me into the state of being ‘Kosovare’ – the state I long to be.

More importantly, it protects my children, it welcomes them and offers them inclusiveness. It offers them opportunities to shine their own beacons and to create their own dreams through the ‘Diaspora School’.

Germin is a community run by the power of the ‘in-between’ forces, tackling barriers and creating opportunities for connections, for integration of diaspora journeys and for joining dreams of greater value creation.

***

Indira Kartallozi is the director at Kaleidoscope Futures and founder of Migrant Entrepreneurs International. Indira’s expertise ranges from sustainability, social enterprise, human rights and leadership. Indira’s work in sustainability has taken her to various countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Previously, she was President of the judging panel for the Social Enterprise Reporting Awards (The SERAs), an initiative of CSR Nigeria. Indira is also engaged in various positions supporting the work of ‘Impacto’, a Malaysian social enterprise, Women for Peace and Participation (WPP), a non-profit organization promoting social and political inclusion of women, GERMIN and ‘Mentoring Our Future’. 

Dr. Ir. Edmond Balidemaj, a versatile individual whose academic success is as admirable as his dedication to benefiting Kosovo

Leave a reply

Edmond studied Electrical Engineering at the Delft University of Technology and completed his graduate studies at the Electromagnetics Research Group in 2010. His research was focused on efficient methods for solving electromagnetic inversion problems and inspired him to continue pursuing his academic aspirations.

Dr. Ir. Edmond Balidemaj, a versatile individual whose academic success is as admirable as his dedication to benefiting KosovoIn line with this, he became a PhD student at the Radiotherapy Department of the Academic Medical Center (AMC) in Amsterdam in November 2010. The project Improved Regional Hyperthermia Delivery by Using MRI Data for Treatment Planning was funded by the Dutch Cancer Society and Edmond received several awards at various international MRI and hyperthermia conferences for his research results. He obtained a PhD degree in Medicine at the University of Amsterdam in 2016.

Dr. Ir. Edmond Balidemaj, a versatile individual whose academic success is as admirable as his dedication to benefiting KosovoEven though he focused his energy on advancing his career, Edmond Balidemaj always found time for his commitment to Kosovo’s improvement. In 2008, he participated in Kosovo project of Wellant College in Dordrecht during which he visited Kosovo and helped renovate a school in Drenas municipality together with 20 other Dutch students. Moreover, Edmond provided a course on the Albanian language and a workshop on the Albanian culture to the Dutch students who visited Kosovo with him. In the period of 2005-2009, Edmond and his three friends (Varoll, Verart and Vatan) organized a variety of events which brought students of Albanian descent living in the Netherlands together. Among other things, they organized entertainment activities such as bowling and barbecues and also participated in events organized by other organizations (e.g. Pax Christi, embassies, etc,) regarding Kosovo issues.

Diaspora – Kosovo’s secret weapon

Leave a reply

What is Diaspora’s contribution in Kosovo?

Kosovars living abroad are estimated to be circa 800,000, which is equal to around 45% (almost half) of all citizens living in the country. Kosovo’s Diaspora is very generous; in 2015 alone, it sent over 750 million Euro (remittances) to Kosovo. This amount is about 2.5 times higher than foreign direct investments, and about 17% of the Gross Domestic Product for the same year. This money is usually used to mitigate poverty of their relatives in Kosovo; for clothes, food, building houses, cars, etc. Despite of thier contribution to Kosovo, Diaspora feels underrepresented. It needs further strengthening and  opportunities to be part of decision-making processes in the country.

How are Diaspora’s money spent and how can they be spent better?

Is this the best possible way concerning spending of Diaspora’s money? Apart from fulfilling basic needs, a part of remittances and other money Diaspora saves could be channeled towards investments in the entrepreneurship sector in Kosovo – opening new businesses. This would impact the empowerment of Kosovars living within the country and would create the conditions for a more qualitative economic growth, which would reflect in decreasing unemployment that is the biggest challenge in the country. This would also present a very good chance for Diaspora; in addition to the feeling of contributing to their country, such an investment would present an ideal opportunity for favorable return from investments. It is crucial that the decision to invest in Kosovo is driven by rational business reasoning and not emotional impulse.

How should Kosovo approach Diaspora?

Diaspora should not be seen solely as financing resource, but also as a development partner and participant in the decision-making process. As a key contributor, Diaspora should be given bigger space and to enable it to be part of various state building processes. A very important issue for them is the issue of representation in the Kosovo Assembly.  Croatia and France, which allocate 3-4% of the national assembly seats for diaspora representatives, could serve as examples for Kosovo to implement a similar practice. Kosovo’s Ministry of Diaspora has proposed allocation of seats for Diaspora, but this has yet to be implemented. Government of Kosovo should treat Diaspora with a special care and create favorable conditions to be a part of these processes.

What is being done and what more can be done for the Diaspora?

How can tangible results be achieved in this regard? There have been some initiatives taken recently by civil society. DiasporaFlet.org was launched in November and provides a platform for networking between Albanian Diaspora organization, listening to their needs and expressing opinions. In addition, the Albanian Diaspora businesses network has been created. During the frequent contact with Diaspora members, an extraordinary huge interest for engagement was noticed. Their vast majority are interested in contributing through donations in various sectors in Kosovo. However, it remains to have better conditions created to open business so both parties can benefit – investors (Diaspora) and Kosovars within the country, namely to create a win-win plan. By playing this role, it is thought to achieve a bigger empowerment of Diaspora in a near future, and the country to benefit more.

Diaspora members may or may not plan  to return to their homeland; however, one thing is sure, they all want to help their country of birth in creating positive changes, either through remittances, investments, exchange of skills and experiences, etc. Kosovo has a very qualified Diaspora living worldwide and creation of mechanisms for contributing to the birthplace would help a lot the increase of prosperity in the country. Including Diaspora in policy making, utilizing their skills and experiences would play a key role to the needed changes for the benefit of the country.

What initiatives could be taken to enable Diaspora contributing more in Kosovo in the short-term period?

What could be done in this regard? There are many ways for Diaspora engagement; we are mentioning some concrete ones: creation of conditions to start businesses that would bring together local entrepreneurs with co-finances from Diaspora; creation of diverse programs (e.g. doctors) to help local institutions; bringing academics to Kosovo to lecture/work as part of the efforts for “brain gain” to Kosovo; creation of groups for professionals networking who operate abroad and within Kosovo. These are only few options, whereas the opportunities to utilize the Diaspora potential in function of developing the country are bigger than this. Kosovars are very proud of Diaspora and the successes they achieved in the countries where they live, in diverse areas: art, music, sports, etc. Thus, more should be done to utilize these in Kosovo’s benefit.

Who should be the key players to lead these changes? No doubts, the biggest role in this aspect falls with the Government of Kosovo, Ministry of Diaspora in particular as the responsible body for listening to the Diaspora demands and recommend to the Government on necessary changes in respective ministries. Additionally, the Civil Society Organizations in the motherland as well as Diaspora should play an important role.

Switzerland is home to hundreds of thousands of Albanians from Kosovo who fled the country during the 90s. Many of them left at an early age, and they have grown up to become vital members of the Swiss society. Such is the story of Besar Rexhepaj from Mrasor, Rahovec. Besar, left Kosovo at the age of seven and today, at the age of 27, has already made a name for himself within the business realm. Besar is proof that hard work and commitment to community service are imperative to the creative process and economic growth.

Besar, who has a natural affinity for business, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the University of Applied Sciences in Thun. He spent his initial years as a young professional working for a Swiss education company. Later, he founded innobus GmbH, a business consultancy. As part of this company, Besar advises small and medium enterprises on founding and management, putting his education to good use. However, innobus GmbH is not the only thing that keeps Besar busy.

This past year Besar co-founded Lority, a leading network that specializes on ethnic entrepreneurship in the German-speaking areas of Europe. Lority is his baby. He has big plans for the company and what we see now, is just the beginning. Lority’s marketing efforts focus on developing and strengthening business communities from culturally diverse backgrounds. They offer customized marketing and communication services for for-profit organizations. Lority believes in diversity of ethnicity, lifestyles and mentalities, and in collective support. Their goal is to help individual organizations. They do so by encouraging and fostering business relationships across communities by combining their forces together towards a greater good: both individual and collective economic advantage.

Group of friends at the park holding hands and rise up to the sky.Besar is an ambitious businessman. Nevertheless, his determination to support ethnic communities is also personal and is inspired by his own background. With Lority, he plans to pursue multiple projects, a few of which will be focused on supporting Albanian entrepreneurs abroad and in Kosovo, Albania, Montenegro, and Macedonia. Moreover, they aim to bring together successful Albanian professionals from different sectors in order to improve economic cooperation through networking. In his own words, Besar thinks that, “There is a great potential in Kosovo. This has to be exploited much more. The talented young people must be encouraged. It is a task of the environment that the young talented people in Kosovo be more encouraged.”

DIASPORA: DSP Project Grants

Leave a reply

Kosovar Civil Society Foundation through the project Promoting Democratic Society (DSP), supported by the Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo (SCO-K), under the second component of the project, has opened up the possibility of applying for Diaspora grants.

The aim of this component is supporting civil society organizations in Diaspora through grants. The areas to be supported by this scheme cover i) Diaspora civic and political rights in Kosovo and ii) transfers of “know-how” by Kosovo’s Diaspora for social and economic development of Kosovo.

Project bearers must be Diaspora organizations whereas Kosovo-based organizations could be partners in projects implementation.

With regards to this, we inform you that application for Diaspora Grants is open and the deadline for application is February 1, 2017.

More detailed information concerning the call for application and required documents can be found in the link: http://kcsfoundation.org/dsp/?page=1,15.