Diaspora Engagement: A Source of Policy Making in Albania and Kosovo
By: Valon Xoxa June 5, 2015
Saturday, 6th of June 2015 marks the 2nd Global Virtual Meeting of the Albanian Diaspora members, activists and leaders with the government of Albania and Kosovo.
The list of participants is comprised of important figures from the government, business and civil society: Vlora Çitaku (Kosovo Consul in NYC), Besa Shahini (Senior Analyst at European Stability Initiative), Indira Kartallozi (Director at Chrysalis Family Futures), Avni Mustafaj (Executive Director at National Albanian American Council in Washington D.C.), Jetmir Bakija (Project Manager at Kosovo Democratic Institute in Prishtina), Donika Hoxha (Director at MFA Albania/Public Diplomacy, Partnerships and Diaspora Department), Adi Hoxha (Desk Officer at MFA Albania/Public Diplomacy, Partnerships and Diaspora Department), Nuhi Peci (Albanian Student Association Norway), and Behar Xharra ( Founder of KosovoDiaspora.org).
This Virtual Google Hangout is the second of a series of events that aims to create an online space for candid engagement between diaspora members and their home government. The goal of this event is to jointly discuss innovative approaches for diaspora engagement.
The panel aims to bring together different drivers of the policy-making process, activism and civil society engagement, which influence our diaspora directly. We are convinced that your contribution to our discussion, which aims to bring forward ideas on connecting Albania and Kosovo with the diaspora – will be invaluable.
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The organizer of the discussion forum is NGO Germin in partnership with the International Organization of Migration (IOM), the United Nations Development Office (UNDP) and the Kosovo Ministry of Diaspora (MoD).
Germin is an NGO that uses technology to connect and support the Albanian Diaspora communities with their home countries. Germin has founded and manages the www.kosovodiaspora.org, a crowdsourcing digital engagement platform for Diaspora.
Valon Xoxa
Valon Xoxa is a staff member of Kosovodiaspora.org. He holds a bachelor degree from Westminster College (MO) in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology. Currently resides in Prishtina, and is a freelance contributor and editor at KosovoDiaspora.org. With an interest in contemporary culture, he seeks to find and incorporate articles from the Kosovar Diaspora that would shed light upon the interesting characteristics of this important global community. He has published a research article through UNDP’s School on Human Development titled “Mobility and Public Participation: A Case Study of the Kosovar Diaspora”, where a rather interesting Andersonian perspective is taken at understanding the Internet as a national identity creation medium.
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