Albanians and Serbs. In Kosovo, these two communities remain divided. Although the Kosovo conflict has ended, Albanian and Serbian youth residing in the country rarely communicate due to the conflictual past and parallel educational system based on ethnic division. Plus, there is also inherited discrimination toward other minorities like the Roma, Egyptian, and Ashkali communities. The youth of these communities have poor living conditions, low employment rates, and are often
required to drop out of school at an early age and hit the streets to collect garbage cans and beg for money. This was when we started the Kosovo Youth Festival, a project that came from my dream of growing Kosovo into a truly multi-ethnic nation.
Born from two divided ethnic groups that fought against one another around two decades ago, building trust between us was a slow process. We had our first encounter back in 2015, during the beginning of the first semester at university. Our first conversation revolved around classes. As we talked about common interests, our conversation evolved to more intrapersonal topics. We slowly became comfortable enough to engage in sensitive conversations, including those about our pasts.
Diellza is Albanian and comes from the region of Drenica, an area that was severely affected during the conflict of 1999. Andjela, on the other hand, comes from Gračanica, a Serbian-majority town. We were able to share with each other what both Albanian families and Serbian families went through during the conflict. Needless to say, these conversations were more insightful than most classes at university.
Due to the lack of communication between ethnic communities in Kosovo, we only get one side of the story without seeing the larger tragedy. We realized that we could not rely on the testimonies of our own community alone. We needed a new way of bringing together the youth from different ethnicities. And what’s the best way to unite Albanians, Serbs, the Roma, Egyptian, Ashkali, Turks, and Bosnians? Cevapi (precisely cooked meat), rakija (fruit spirits), music, and dancing! And so we came up with the idea of putting together a fun event.
The Kosovo Youth Fest is a place that represents the cultural diversity of Kosovo, where participants learn about the similarities of all of the country’s communities. It has become a fruitful ground for many new friendships that transcend ethnic barriers. It was held two years in a row, 2018 and 2019, and continues to be a very vibrant and positive space. Our aim is to have it as an annual festival, of course.
Culture is used as a means to divide societies, not only in the Balkans, but throughout the world. However, we see the positive, beautiful, and colorful impact cultural diversity can have. In order for all of Kosovo’s communities—and young people around the world—to come together hand-in-hand, we must focus on the positive aspects of a multi-ethnic society. We youngsters can serve as an example.
We are the future of our generation and the peacebuilders, and our diversity and differences make us stronger.