Conference on the Future of Europe: Europe that young generation of Kosovo would like to see
Pristina, 30 november 2021 – In a conference organized by the Hungarian Embassy in Pristina in collaboration with Rochester Institute of Technology in Kosovo (RITK) hosted at the RITK campus in Germia, 55 students from Kosovo’s higher education had the chance to share their visions of the Europe they would like to see.
The students had the chance to hear from the European Union Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi through a video message. Varhelyi called the youth of Kosovo as the most valuable asset and told them that their voice will have a great impact on addressing economic development and making state institutions responsible to the needs of citizens.
Moreover, the students took part in a panel discussion moderated by the Ambassador and EU Integration Advisor to the Kosovo Government, Mr. Laszlo Domjan, whilst the panel consisted of Ambassador Tomáš Szunyog, Head of EU Office in Kosovo, Deputy Minister of Education of Kosovo Mr. Dukagjin Pupovci, Executive Director at Pristina Institute for Political Studies (PiPS) Ms. Leonora Kryeziu and Young European Ambassador for Kosovo, Mr. Eris Cunaku.
Ambassador Tomáš Szunyog expressed the EU’s readiness to support and engage with civil society in Kosovo. He also expressed the importance of youth initiative in Kosovo and how the youth can aid in tackling current issues such as climate change, unemployment, corruption, organized crime etc.
Deputy Minister of Education Dukagjin Pupovci stated that despite travel restrictions, Kosovo youth manage to go work and study in the EU which alleviates the feeling of exclusion from the region. He also added that one issue that the youth face is the skill gap in Kosovo’s labour market mainly coming from the education sector, therefore he strongly encouraged the youth to share their views before the government and EU officials present at the event.
PiPS executive director Leonora Kryeziu added that she has worked with civil society for almost 20 years now together with young people in Kosovo and there are many unresolved issues that the youth in Kosovo face. From the Kosovo-Serbia obstacle to visa liberalization, she stressed that the vision of Kosovo’s youth is no different from the rest of Europe’s youth vision, however the opportunities to achieve that vision are different.
Young European Ambassador for Kosovo Eris Çunaku added that sharing ideas and viewpoints is one of the ways for Europe’s youth to connect with one another. He encouraged young people to take more initiatives and be louder on issues that they really care about.
The audience shared concerns over freedom of travel in Europe, lack of opportunities to travel and study abroad, education system reforms in Kosovo, foreign direct investments in Kosovo, promotion of Kosovo abroad, supporting youth activities, scholarship and study programs abroad etc. The students made sure to reiterate that with more opportunities provided in their home country, the desire to travel to Europe would be to study, meet new people and share new experiences with their European peers.
Through this very fruitful discussion, the students have identified some recommendations to the EU on the Europe that the young generation of Kosovo would like to see.
Recommendations:
- An integrated Europe with freedom of movement – more opportunities to study and work in Europe.
- EU to continue supporting education programs abroad for Kosovar students.
- Programs to promote Kosovo abroad.
- Work with Kosovo government on attracting more foreign direct investment in the region.
- Support the Kosovo government on education reforms and tackling the issue of skills gap in the labour market.
- Europe supporting human rights on a larger scale.
- Europe working with the Kosovo government to support youth programs in art, music, sport and education further.
