Category Archives: Featured

After her family escaped the simmering turmoil in Kosovo to England, Gentiana started to pursue her passion for hair-styling at an early age. Working as a hairdressing assistant at the age of 16, she slowly worked her way and built the confidence to open her own salon. She now owns and runs Rush Cambridge, the Cambridge branch of the famous British brand Rush Hair. Gentiana manages a team of nine employees and works as a stylist for six days a week.

2Gentiana explains how she had initially contacted Rush Hair to open a salon in Cambridge and presented her ideas to senior management. The process happened swiftly as Rush Hair helped her to open a new location for the hairstyling brand. She believes that the right attitude is crucial to achieving one’s goals.

Gentiana hopes to open another salon in the near future.  She says that Kosovars living abroad can help improve Kosovo’s image by excelling in their professions and jobs.

Born in Bulqize, Albania, Mira Kaloshi is a young Albanian singer who moved to Belgium together with her family at the age of five. She learned of her ability to sing at a young age and often performed at school and local events. At the age of 14 she started writing her own music and at the age of 16 she decided to learn to play the guitar. These activities provided her with the opportunity to network with a number of people in the music business who helped her become a better singer songwriter. “Those couple of chords that I learned on the guitar helped me to write the music I have today,” stated Mira. After many recorded demos, Nightgames was officially released on her birthday, the 25th of October, 2016. Nightgames was, produced, recorded, and filmed in Antwerp.

Mira Kaloshi: Creating connections through musicMira’s music is inspired by her life experiences as well as a diverse set of music genres. Her music is not limited to any particular genre but is a is a mix of styles such as indie pop, alternative RnB’ and acoustic pop. Another single released, titled Far Away, is written by her and music producer, Wekho. Right now, she is working with different people, trying to put together an EP that will define her style. She anticipates that her EP will be out soon as she has finished working on it. She envisions an EP that is both artistic as well as visually appealing, having a movie feel to it. She notes, “like making people feel like they are watching a movie-trailer instead of just a video clip. That’s what I intended to do with Nightgames in the first place.”

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But beside the musical career she is committed and engaged in the diaspora community.  She has been a part of the student committee Vlera, that was created by Albanian-Kosovar students in Belgium a couple of years ago. Vlera is an organization that aims to help Albanian speaking students, such as helping them find internships, or by organizing events to communicate with each other. Currently, Mira is also focused on finishing her studies in Communication. She believes that Albania and Kosovo have some of the most talented people in the world. She considers the art scene in the region to be very vivid, changing and evolving everyday. She hopes that in the near future more art schools will open and more events or festivals will be organized in order to provide a space for many talented artists.

Mira Kaloshi: Creating connections through musicEven though Mira speaks Albanian very well, her songs are in English. She is often faced with the challenge of explaining why she chooses to sing in English. Having grown up in Belgium, she learned English from a very young age and listened to English artists. Therefore, English has become her her native language. She notes, “As much as I love listening to Albanian music, it’s hard for me to make it, because mentally I’m somewhere in the middle between Albania and Belgium right now.” Despite being in English, however, her single Nightgames was released by Albanian radio stations, and TV-stations. Another challenge for Mira is making connections in a country that isn’t her homeland. The specific art scene set in Belgium makes it a difficult place for Mira to develop her career as she envisions it. As a foreigner she finds it hard to be appreciated and recognized for her work.

On a simple dark stage underneath a single spotlight, the Albanian music artist known as Stanaj stands tall and confident ready to perform for his fans at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. He grabs the microphone and immediately the room becomes electrified by his powerful and smooth voice and his infectious presence.s4Stanaj, 22, has been performing for large audiences like this for quite some time now. Yet, he evokes such a level of pure joy and excitement when he sings that it feels like this could be his first big performance. It is with love, gratitude, and a huge smile adorning his face that Stanaj gives life to his beautiful songs and sends everyone home with a piece of his heart and a little bit of his charm. There is something truly admirable about the genuineness with which he performs.

Stanaj, born in New York to Albanian immigrant parents, has taken the music industry by storm and is quickly rising as a pop-star sensation. Within five months he successfully released two EPs, “The Preview” in 2016 and “From A Distance” in 2017. Aside from being featured on Spotify’s “Pop Rising” and Tidal Rising, he is selling out shows in every city alongside singer Jojo.

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The world was officially introduced to Stanaj in October of 2016 through his first official television debut on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. By his own admission, that debut to him was a dream come true. But, to many people, Stanaj was already someone to watch out for due to his large social media following. After performing in bars and small gigs, Stanaj began to steadily gain popularity on Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. In a matter of a couple of years, he managed to go from a social media sensation to a respected recording artist. Stanaj has come a long way but he still thinks there is a lot of work ahead of him. “I am nowhere near where I want to be. However, I’ve been lucky enough to be recognized by so many people as a true artist,” he adds.

When he’s not on the road, Stanaj splits his time between New York and LA writing –he has written with some of the best writers and producers–and recording songs. But that burden is made easier by the tremendous support and the constant presence of his family—“my champions”, as he refers to them— to whom he dedicates his entire success to. In fact, his manager Mark is his brother. But the sacrifices his family has made along the way are finally paying off. Being a first-generation American and seeing the struggles that his parents have had to overcome inspires Stanaj to pursue his dreams and stay humble. His parents are Albanian from Malesia, Montenegro. “Having older siblings and parents who are so deeply involved in the Albanian culture helps me stay true to who I am, and my roots,” he says.

Growing up, Stanaj sang mostly Albanian songs, which he admits he still loves dearly. He often shares videos and images of his younger self joyfully performing in small Albanian weddings and gatherings. From a young age, his family has shared his passion for music. He says he developed a desire for singing from playing instruments with his brothers. “I am not sure that I would have had the same success without having my family guiding and supporting me every step of the way.”

When it comes to the styles of his music, Stanaj does not think he sounds like anyone in particular, but people have compared him to a mix between Sam Smith, Justin Timberlake, and Alicia Keys. Yet, he is unique in his own way. You have never heard anyone quite like him. You can listen to a song and immediately know it is his. This is a sign of a true artist and he plans to keep it that way. In a world full of mass-produced music, Stanaj thinks that being unique will prevail. As far as we are concerned, Stanaj’s dream built on hard work, determination, and team effort has already prevailed.

As they continued to develop their love for nature, five young men from Kosovo recently joined forces and took their passion to another level.

Arian, Taulant, Leorent, Adi, and Kushtrim are the founders of Supercampers—a group that organizes camping and hiking trips around Kosovo. Driven by their love of nature, about five years ago, these young men started exploring the natural beauty of Kosovo’s ancient mountains. “We have mainly been inspired by the endless potential that Kosovo’s nature has to offer and by the many experiences each of us has had while travelling for work to Europe and the US”, say the founders. Each of them were able to draw lessons from the way other countries have embraced and incorporated nature in their respective cultures. Supercampers want to apply those lessons towards creating a similar culture in Kosovo.

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The idea to create something like Supercampers has been brewing for a long time, according to them. Seeing how such initiatives are rare in Kosovo, they decided that showcasing Kosovo’s beauty is the best way to give back to the country.

During the past five years, the founders have been able to hone their skills and have come across numerous beautiful and interesting places in the country. As a result, Supercampers now organize hikes and camping trips in many different locations in Kosovo. During each trip, their goal is to be able to discover something new and then to share it with others. Some of the most popular spots remain Bjeshket e Nemuna (Rugova Mountains) and Sharri Mountains. In addition, Supercampers have also started working on branching out and organizing trips to the neighboring countries, such as Albania, Montenegro, and Macedonia.

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Considering that it is in the initial stages, Supercampers’ current plans include mostly weekend camping and hiking trips. However, the founders hope to extend the length of the trips during summertime. During the summer months, Kosovo becomes a popular tourist destination for thousands of Kosovar Albanians who live abroad. Supercampers want to be able to help acquaint people with what Kosova has to offer in addition to the vibrant urban atmosphere.

Finally, Supercampers understands that proper usage of social media and technology can be very beneficial. They have embraced the social media world to the fullest as the most convenient and effective way to reach their targeted audience. “By taking advantage of technology and modern media, we think that visually documenting our activities will help us reach the goal that we have set for ourselves—promoting Kosovo and its beauty and showing the world that we are capable of organizing and creating beautiful things.”

A quick look at their Instagram feed and their Facebook page will give you the urge to pack up your bags and leave on the first possible flight.

Wiki Loves Monuments is an international photo contest for monuments running this September, organized by Wikimedia globally, as well as FLOSSK in Kosovo and Open Labs Albania.

Cultural heritage is an important part of the knowledge that Wikipedia collects and disseminates. Everybody can contribute images as well as write articles. An image is worth a thousand words, in all languages at once, and enthusiastic people can (re)discover the cultural, historic, and scientific significance of their neighborhoods by uploading photos to Wikimedia.

http://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/two-days-until-2015-competition/

http://www.wikilovesmonuments.org/two-days-until-2015-competition/

In 2012, Wikipedia volunteer communities in 35 countries joined this initiative. In 2014 nearly 40 countries all over the world are participating through national contests organized with their national monuments, partners, rules, events and winners.

The organizers – FLOSSK from Kosovo and Open Labs from Albania – through digital access to cultural monuments, want to promote the cultural heritage of the respective countries to the world. 

Every national contest, including the ones in Albania and Kosovo, will be able to nominate 10 of their winning photos to the international contest. These nominated photos will be judged by an international jury, which will then award extra prizes to the best images from all participating countries.

The list of monuments of both countries is already published in the official website of the project, including the rules, requirements and the detailed description of this competition at wikilovesmonuments.al. After the end of the competition on 7 October, 10 best photos will be selected from each country – Kosovo and Albania. These photos, in November,  will be sent to the international competition and will be judged by the global community.

FLOSSK is organizing several information sessions in Prishtina, Mitrovica, Prizren, Gjakova and Gjilan during the period September 28 to October 1 to explain the rules, demonstrate the upload process and answer questions from potential participants. To provide access to selected heritage sites and ease the journey, three guided photography excursions will be held in the weekend of October 3-4. To attend these activities please see the details here.

FLOSSK (flossk.org) in Kosovo and Open Labs (openlabs.cc) in Albania are non-profit organizations, established in order to support, promote and develop, among other things, free access to knowledge and culture.

The competition is supported by the Kosovo Institute for the Protection of Monuments of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.

Illustration photos

Vienna Focus Group comlpeted successfully

Virtual Registration of Diaspora initiative has successfully completed the discussion forum. Held at the premises of the Kosovar Embassy in Vienna, the event gathered representatives of the departments of Kosovo, specifically the Ministry of the Diaspora, representatives of various Albanian organizations in Austria and numerous members from the civil society. The forum once again highlighted the importance of meeting directly with citizens and exchange of information with related institutions.2

The discussion form brought together participants from Kosovo,Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania. A question and answer session with the  Secretary of the Ministry of Diaspora, Mentor Borovci, Director of Media Department of the Ministry of Diaspora Mr. Lorik Pustina and the Consul of Kosovo in Austria, Mr. Imer Ladrovci.1

Among many question, a rather important one was raised by Mr. Abdullah Abdullahi from Prizren, who asked whether Albanians who have Austrian citizenship have the right to register and proposed that the registration process intensify during the summer months. Representatives of the Ministry of Diaspora explained that this registration will not cause legal trouble to anyone and does not create any legal complication with dual citizenship, thus it encourages diaspora community members of every legal standing to register.

Mr. Hamez Morina from the ESIKS organizations in Vienna is seeking to promote the Diaspora Registration by ease of access to public services or  reward based program. Another efficient method highlighted by Mr. Morina has been contacting members of the diaspora previously engaged in projects such as “Brain Gain”.

The discussion form has been characterized also by numerous questions regarding Albanians from Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania.  Mr. Sabri Osmani from the city of Ulqin demanded that the registry is more inclusive, alongside Mr. Osmani, a number of people demanded that the Kosovar embassy contact the Macedonian and Montenegrin counterparts in order to expand the reach of the registry.3

Swiss misconceptions over Albanians: “Wait…what, you are Albanian?”

Swiss newspaper “Tages Anzeiger” interviewed three ethnic Albanian students, to prove how inaccurate are misconceptions over ethnic Albanians in Switzerland. Denise Marquard interviewed Burim Lusha, Vjosa Ismaili and Arbnora Aliu who study at the University of Zurich and the University of Applied Sciences in Zurich.

Does Switzerland make you feel more Albanian or Swiss?

Lusha: I cannot fully answer this question. I am lucky to have been raised in both countries.

 

There are ongoing discussions if the football players for the Swiss national team are “decent Swiss”.

Lusha: People, in a wider sense, think that Albanians are skilled only in sports. But they don’t consider that there are many students and PhD candidates at Swiss Universities. Since there is no existing codex that defines the values that make a person a “decent Swiss”, this statement seems pointless to me.

 

Albanians are only football players, bodyguards or people who practice martial art. Is that true?

Ismaili: Unfortunately that’s how the majority of people perceive us. Since high school, I was continuously bullied by being asked: wait what, you are Albanian? There is this idea: if you are Albanian, you are not able to study.

Aliu: I deal with this sort of situation even today at my University. Since I do not give much credit to these comments, I ironically answer back: I was forced to get married, so I study in secret. Then no one dares do discuss it further. The truth is that both my parents studied in ex-Yugoslavia, therefore it is understandable to study in my family.

 

What’s the deal with Balkan machos? Do they exist or not?

Ismaili: I do not read daily news, because they do not reflect the reality.

Aliu: That what is written about Balkan machos, is still unknown for me, my relatives and my friends. We cannot allow our nation to be humiliated like this.

 

If a teenager swears in his/her school in Prishtina, what would happen?

 Aliu: This would not end well. This is not how Albanians behave. This derives from gangsters and rap culture that we find on youtube, instagram and twitter.

Lusha: When I read what a school mayor had said, that albanian kids are told that their mother is of no value, I questioned his seriousness. In Albanian culture women, and especially mothers, are given a big respect.

 

There is the irresponsible driver from the Balkans, and then the Balkan macho. Is there a stereotype for people from Balkans?

Aliu: It disgusts me when I see this generalization. Even the “yugo” notion is used for humiliating Balkan people.

 

But Croatians, Serbs and Albanians altogether have conflicts between each other, right?

Ismaili: Firstly, we honor each other as human beings. Ethnicity comes second.

Aliu: We are all united by one fact, that we all are immigrants in Switzerland.

 

Is there gender equality between Albanians?

Ismaili: My dad does the housework, so gender inequality is not an issue in my family.

Aliu: In my family, we are four women. Trust me, it’s not easy for my dad.

Lusha: I love cooking.

 

Albanians are conservatory rural people and they suppress women’s rights, isn’t that so?

 Aliu: Take a ride to Skopje, Prishtina or Tirana. It’s ridiculous to say that Albanian women are oppressed. On the contrary, they are open and secure about themselves.

 

So they do not wear burka or anything similar to it?

The three of them: In Albanian territory, we do not know anyone who wears burka.

 

What about equal rights?

Lusha: Speaking for myself, I have never experienced discrimination.

Aliu: Back in high school, I had a teacher who barely gave me a B. When I asked her what was the reason about it, she answered: do your parents read the Neue Zurcher Zeitung? This was absurd. Later on I had another teacher, and I had excellent grades.

Ismaili: I was one of the few immigrants who succeeded to get into high school, and I think that if we had more support, many of other immigrants could have been attending it.

Aliu: In my primary school, 80% of the kids in my class were immigrants. I was the only one who could get into high school. Every year, only two people can get through high school without attending extra courses. That is why today I teach extra courses to the kids from my neighborhood, so they can be better prepared.

 

How important is islam for you?

Aliu: In my family, religion is a very important part of everyday life. We practice islam in our manner.

Ismaili: Religion is something personal.

Lusha: As for me, religion is very important, not because of the tradition, but because of obedience. Based on Albanian history, I would say that Albania is less religious than Kosovo or Macedonia. There is a fact that there are no religious conflicts in Albanian society, since the religious diversity is present and embraced.

 

Would you marry a Swiss?

Aliu: My life partner is Albanian, I met him during my holidays. My dad always said to me that it is up to me to decide with who I want to spend my life with. But he clearly said that if I fall in love with a Swiss, I would have to deal with the education and religious issues myself.

Lusha: For me, nationality is not important at all.

 

How do you picture your future? Would you still live in Switzerland?

Ismaili: I don’t know. It is a great priority that we have experienced the lives in both countries.

Lusha: I will surely stay in Switzerland. We can learn so much from Italians. Today, they are integrated. I hope that Albanians will someday be part of Swiss Academia. There are many talents in different Swiss Universities.

Aliu: I cannot say If I will be staying here or not. What I can say about the future is that there will be many opportunities for the next generations. Then, they will not be talking over us, but about us.

* Arbnora Aliu (24) studies pedagogy, Vjosa Ismaili (23) economy, Burim Lusha (25) economy and engineering.