30 October 2019 – The Kosovo-Serbia Policy Advocacy Group (KSPAG) in collaboration with the Institute for Policy Analysis (I4PA) organised the fourth workshop, this time in Kamenica, in the framework of activities promoting and communicating the benefits of technical dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. “The workshop aims to engage with the local CSOs in a discussion about the benefits of the Kosovo-Serbia technical dialogue.” said Dea Gecaj, Executive Director of I4PA. “These workshops serve as an opportunity for participants to share their experiences of the benefits of technical dialogue, as well as their views and expectations from dialogue process,” she concluded.

The panellists spoke about the agreements reached so far, their implementation and the benefits citizens have from them. Gazmir Raci, an expert on this dialogue, elaborated on the agreements reached during the technical dialogue and talked about the extent of their implementation. He put special emphasis on the Integrated Border Management Agreement (IBM), which enables citizens from Kosovo and Serbia to cross the border more easily and at more border crossing points, which, prior to the agreement, was a challenge.

Balkan Group Policy Officer, Abdullah Ferizi, explained the KSPAG project and the need to promote and communicate the benefits of technical dialogue.

Participants emphasized the particular importance of the technical dialogue and the need for greater political commitment in implementing the reached agreements. “We are dealing with a very complicated process. I think we as citizens need to improve relations between communities in order to create a better living environment here” said one participant.

Participants also criticized the transparency of communicating the technical dialogue; they noted that the situation on the ground and inter-ethnic relations are much different than communicated by institutions and the media. At the end of the workshop, participants of NGOs from the Kamenica region praised the organization of the workshop because as they said: “This enables them to be informed directly about the achievements of the technical dialogue and the process in general”.

This event was organized with the support of the Norwegian Embassy in Kosovo and European Union. The content of this activity is the sole responsibility of the Kosovo-Serbia Policy and Advocacy Group and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the Norwegian Embassy in Kosovo and the European Union.