6 December 2019 – Kosovo – Serbia Policy Advocacy Group (KSPAG) member Democracy for Development (D4D) Institute organized a peer to peer visit in Prishtina, from 04 to 06 December 2019. The visit brought together 15 young people from Serbia and 15 young people from Kosovo to discuss and exchange their experiences on the benefits of the technical dialogue between Prishtina and Belgrade and its impact on the lives of citizens.
The peer to peer visit included a meeting with representatives of Innovation Center Kosovo (ICK) where the participants had the opportunity to hear about their work and cooperation with innovation centers in Serbia. Emphasis was put on how the technical agreements, especially the one of freedom of movement enabled the regional cooperation.
During the second day of the visit, participants had the chance to hear two guest speaker lectures. The first lecture, given by Mr. Shpetim Gashi, Vice President of the Council for Inclusive Governance was on the differing perspectives regarding the technical dialogue, whilst the second lecture by Ms. Donika Emini Executive Director of Civikos Platform focused on the cooperation of Kosovo and Serbia civil society organisations.
The last day of the peer to peer visit included a visit to the South and North Mitrovica. The visit concluded at NGO Aktiv, where Igor Markovic spoke about the challenges of the integration of the Kosovo Serb community. He argued that the technical agreements between Belgrade and Prishtina had a positive impact on the citizens’ lives. Some of the concrete benefits for the citizens, according to Mr. Markovic include the improvement of the rule of law, improved security and freedom of movement, and improved economy. Participants also visited the Ibër/Ibar Bridge and walked through the city centers.
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.