Kosovo’s 400 meters runner Vijona Kryeziu has been training for the Olympic Games in the mountains around her native village of Rogane, fulfilling a dream that seemed impossible to many of her country’s athletes until very recently.
Even though she is fairly young, being only 18 years old, she is one of the best athletes in the country who has succeeded in the international arenas as well.
Rita Zeqiri has participated in many international competitions and is a multiple swimming champion of Kosovo. She will compete in Rio in the 100 meter backstroke discipline. 
Rita began swimming when she was 10 years old and continues to swim with the same joy and dedication even now, 9 years later. Rita won over 100 awards and has been a champion of Kosovo for the past five years. Her first debut in a major international competition was in Kazan with Rio promising to be another great adventure for her career.
The historic Stage 48 NYC opened its doors to a sold out crowd on Sunday, March 27, 2016 for Albanian Fashion Week 2016. New Yorkers welcomed international Pop Rock Prince Matteo Brento to NYC’s largest and hottest club in Times Square.
The X-Factor Albania Star, Matteo Brento opened the New York show in front of a packed house of 400 adoring fans with his newest single #21 (Goodbye My Love). The new hit #21 (Goodbye my love) is composed and written by award-winning artist Michele Bisceglia, writer and showrunner of ‘IF, winner of “Best Original Song”. The song is arranged by Alessandro Di Lascia in collaboration with vocal coach Cristina Bisceglia.
Matteo treated the crowd to an evening of greatest classics performing Italian hits like “Caruso” by Lucio Dalla, “L’ultima occasione” by Mina, “La donna cannone” by Francesco De Gregori and “E penso a te” by Lucio Battisti.
“It was truly an honor to perform at the Albanian Fashion Week in New York some of the greatest classics and most beloved Italian songs. Caruso by Lucio Dalla is a classic of Italian music known all over the world. What I respect about a legend like Lucio Dalla is that he is a great artist who is not just writing songs, but he is telling real poems,” said Pop Rock star Matteo Brento.
“Congratulations to Mrika Krasniqi, the organizer of the Albanian Fashion Week in New York for such an incredible and successful event. Albanian Fashion Show is the biggest show in USA for Albanian top designers. A very sophisticated show, a pleasant night and highly entertaining. Thank you for having Matteo Brento as special guest at such a fantastic evening,” said Armando Roberto, Matteo Brento’s manager.
Other highlights of Matteo Brento’s performance included the popular Albanian anthem “Xhamandani vija vija” by Ilirët (composed by award-winning Zef Çoba) and “Summertime sadness” by Lana Del Rey, winner of MTV Music Award and Grammy nominee. The later song “Je Ti” by Albanian superstar Alban Skënderaj was dedicated to X-Factor Albania and Matteo’s worldwide Albanian fans. Matteo Brento first performed “Je Ti” to millions of fans during the live broadcast of the biggest talent competition in Europe, The X-Factor Show.
“It was a dream week! The performance at the Albanian Fashion Week NY was a huge success. The shoot of the music video in New York was amazing,” said superstar Matteo Brento. “It was even more incredible to have known special people. Thank you for treating me like a great artist, a great team! Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone! See you soon,” said successful European artist Matteo Brento regarding his debut in United States.
Albanian Fashion Week 2016 is organized by Mrika Krasniqi, founder and CEO of Albanian Fashion Agency and Nil Production in New York. The Albanian Fashion Show presented the best looks from the biggest night in fashion in Manhattan. According to the press release published on the official website of Matteo Brento (www.matteobrento.com), the artist was accompanied by his Italian manager Armando Roberto and his NY Management for the Red Carpet VIP Fashion Show.
“The evening was even more grandiose with Matteo’s performance. It was such a special honor for us to have Matteo Brento at the Albanian Fashion Show. He brought such a classy and warm atmosphere for the public with all the songs that he performed, especially with the ‘Xhamadani Vija Vija’ song. He sang it so well that I got very emotional hearing it,” said Mrika Krasniqi, organizer of Albanian Fashion Week 2016 in New York.
Ambassador H.E. Ylber Kryeziu welcomed Matteo Brento and Armando Roberto to a meet-and-greet at the General Consulate of Kosovo in New York on Monday, March 28, 2016. Matteo Brento said that it was a great privilege and pleasure and thanked Ambassador Kryeziu for the warm welcome and he looks forward to his next projects in Albania and Kosovo.
“I am very excited about my new collaboration with Michele Bisceglia. We are preparing something special for Kenga Magjike in Albania later this year. I would like to present a traditional Albanian song in this great festival to represent the beautiful Albanian culture,” said the internationally known Matteo Brento.
Swiss Cooperation Office in Kosovo (SCO-K) and Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) launched a call for proposals for diaspora organizations.
The overall goal of DSP is to support the development of a democratic society in Kosovo. Through years 2014 – 2018, except the support for projects implemented through Kosovo based organizations, DSP will offer support also the diaspora organizations.
The areas where DSP will invest cover diaspora civic and political rights in Kosovo and transfers of “know-how” by Kosovo’s diaspora for social and economic development in Kosovo. In reaching these objectives, DSP will employ project grants with the purpose of supporting the existing and new civic potential in Diaspora.
Applicants with their proposals shall address one of the priority intervention areas below:
– Diaspora media and civil society contribute to policy and decision-making processes that reflect diaspora civic and political rights in Kosovo.
– Initiatives that aim to create sustainable and institutional mechanisms for providing and transferring sectoral know-how between diaspora and Kosovo are supported
Civil society organizations based in diaspora must fill the application form for grants and budget including all obligatory documents. Completed applications shall be submitted by email at [email protected]. The application will constantly remain open.
Guidelines for applications for diaspora can be found here.
Any question you may have on the preparation of applications or grant application details can be sent via e-mail at [email protected].
Click here for the Albanian version
Click here for the Serbian version
Iran, Kosovo, Austria, journalism and public relations. Those are some of the main identifying characteristics of Medina Abazi, a young professional living and working in Vienna. Born to an Iranian mother and a Kosovar Albanian father, Medina embodies the true meaning of a global citizen. After her parents met in Turkey where her father had a business, Medina spent the first few years of her life travelling back and forth from Istanbul to Teheran. Her family moved to Austria when Medina was four years old. Her father wanted to make sure that Medina would be able to pursue her dreams in a country where women enjoyed equal rights.
Medina talks fondly of her adopted homeland. She says Austria is a place where you can achieve your potential through hard work and dedication. She studied journalism at the University of Klagenfurt and also wrote for The Harvard Crimson. A passion for politics spurred her to work for the Social Democratic Party in Austria and promote various social issues.
Recently, Medina opened her own public relations agency focusing on social media and marketing. She was not sure what she was getting herself into at first, but she has already scored some big companies as clients. Her socialite status in Vienna is definitely a plus for networking and business opportunities.
Medina is also an integration ambassador for Zusammen Osterreicht (Together Austria), an organization working to promote integration and understanding of immigrants in Austria. For German-speakers, you can see this video where Medina explains in more detail her involvement on countering stereotypes against immigrants. Her Iran-Kosovo heritage is a source of inspiration for the young Viennese to help other immigrants navigate and integrate in the Austrian society.
This past week, UNIVERSUM School of Digital Diplomacy brought together 25 talented youngsters age 17 – 22 to partake on an advanced training and coaching week in digital diplomacy. This weeklong training incorporated lecturers from professionals working in the field of Digital Diplomacy and discussion with successful pioneers of Kosovo Digital Diplomacy.
Through the week, participants also developed five projects focused on promoting Kosovo internationally through digital means. The organizers believe that this school will help young people learn about Digital Diplomacy, as well as promote Kosovo’s digital presence. The ultimate goal being to create international recognition for Kosovo.
To support and visit some of the current project being implemented please see below:
Unique Kosovo HERE
HelloKosovo HERE
Share the image of Kosovo HERE
In the summer of 2015, the University of Konstanz and the University of Prishtina collaborated to run a biological summer school, held in Junik. While running the school, the director, Dr. Schmitz along with eight biology students from the University of Konstanz, two biology students from the University of Prishtina and a taxidermist of thee natural-history museum of Stuttgart talked about a potential museum. It was Liridon Hoxha’s idea to open a specialized museum for natural history.
Liridon Hoxha, a biology student at the the University of Konstanz explained for Kosovo Diaspora the main idea for having such a museum. Hoxha who is completing his MSc in Konstanz, Germany is originally from Kosovo. He is an active member of many student groups, such as Green, student’s parliament, Etudes Sans Frontiéres. While attending meetings at Etudes Sans Frontiers, he heard about projects in countries such as Congo, Afghanistan, and Chechenia all of which face numerous challenges. This motivated him to do something for Kosovo.
Hoxha then started a group called ‘Work group Kosovo’, with some of his friends. They brainstormed about what possible projects they could do for making studying in Kosovo possible and in the same time better. Having a background in Biology, Hoxha explained that he always wanted to raise people’s awareness about nature and how they could protect it.
After the excursion of four universities located in different cities of Kosovo (Prishtina, Peja, Gjakova and Prizren), representatives of the Municipality of Junik, environmental organizations and the Agency for Environmental Protection of Kosovo (KEPA), are interested in cooperation, they have expressed interest and would like to implement this project together with the University of Konstanz. The aim of this ambitious project is to strengthen education about the environment in Kosovo, and improve the scientific data on the flora and fauna. They also hope to boost tourism and the local economy through this project.
It is worth mentioning that during the team’s trip to Junik Mountains, students came across rare species or habitats, which have disappeared from other European countries. For example, they found Lanius senator, a bird type that has abandoned the territories of European fauna long ago.
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/
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
1000 Londoners aims to capture the spirit of the city on film. Last week, a new film went live on 1000Londoners.com – Yllka Istrefi – the marathon-running classical pianist from Haringey.
Yllka is a Kosovan-born classical pianist living in North London who lived through the war in Kosovo in 1999 and subsequently moved to England. She studied at the Royal College of Music and has performed worldwide. She has recently accepted to become one of only 1,600 recognized Steinway Artists. Yllka is also a keen runner and has run at a range of marathons globally, including the 2015 London marathon.
This film is part of 1000 Londoners, the most in-depth and expansive documentary series ever produced about a city. Produced by Chocolate Films it comprises a digital channel focusing on creating video portraits of Londoners. You can visit www.1000londoners.com and watch a range of fascinating 3-minute stories.
For more on Yllka please check: HERE
Mentor Dida is a 24-year old recent graduate of the Arizona State University, where he finished both his Masters degree in technology and entrepreneurship and undergraduate studies in electronics engineering (alternative energy). He is currently a program coordinator at Ashoka Youth Venture in Washington D.C., an organization that empowers young people to create and launch their own enterprises.
A native of the city of Mitrovica, Mentor’s desire to drive change through technology and promotion of entrepreneurship for the youth has been visible in numerous initiatives in Kosovo and the United States. He is the co-founder of nonprofit organization Prosperity Initiative in Kosovo that encourages the country’s young people to participate in public service and community work to enhance youth’s role on decision making. “It is a clearing house for volunteers to start new social businesses,” Dida said. “We have workshops about entrepreneurship and philanthropy. There are a lot of problems in Kosovo, and a lot of opportunities for the people to help solve them.”
Prosperity Initiative’s first project is called Lokalizo, a digital mapping platform that utilizes online GIS mapping system for reporting community issues in Kosovo. The concept won best project at the Social Innovations Camp Kosovo, run by the UNICEF Innovations Lab Kosovo.
During his studies, Mentor was active in various activities including fundraising for poverty and homelessness projects and the Clinton Global Initiative University, where he got the chance to meet former President Clinton and discuss issues related to sustainable development in Kosovo.
Considering the high unemployment rate among the youth in Kosovo, Mentor thinks that a good education is the best tool to bring positive change and transform the community through entrepreneurship. He wants to use his knowledge and skills to turn young people into a catalyst for change by tackling poverty and development issues through innovative approaches.
