Speech by Maria Suokko, UNDP Resident Representative

February 14, 2020

Designing sustainable development solutions to respond to people’s daily realities

Reflections at the Launch of the Public Pulse Analysis on Reconciliation and Coexistence

14 February 2020

Today’s complex challenges — resulting from the spread of infectious diseases to preventing conflict — must be tackled in a holistic manner. For UNDP, this means focusing on systems, root causes and connections between issues - to be able to design solutions that respond to people’s daily realities. And precisely these realities – and how we might address them - are the reason why we are gathered today.

An important aspect of our work is linked to the Sustainable Development Goal 16 – peace, justice and strong institutions. We cannot expect to achieve sustainable development without peace, stability, and effective governance. Yet, we continue to see around the globe how violence and insecurity negatively affects development, economic growth, and often resulting in grievances which can last for generations.

Over the last 17 years, in partnership with USAID, we have gathered data and information which have translated into insights ranging from perceptions on democratization, economy, political direction, safety and security - to how diverse ethnic communities in Kosovo see themselves and other communities. These insights continue to be instrumental for our work, and that of other international organisations - as well as Kosovo institutions.

The Public Pulse (PP) Analysis, which we are launching today, provides us useful insights into how people perceive inter-ethnic dynamics. And here I would like to remind you that the analysis provides a snapshot in time – a reflection of people’s perceptions, based on focus group discussions.

When working to build trust and social cohesion among communities it is important to look at how they interact with each other.

We know – also based on scientific research - that the more interaction there is among diverse communities, the more comfortable they feel living side-by-side. Because interaction with the “unknown” allows for better understanding of the other, it increases the chances for diverse communities to feel more comfortable with each other. This is key for improving social cohesion. We have used this concept through the “Inter-community Dialogue through inclusive Cultural Heritage Preservation” project supported by the EU – which aims to break down the barriers between communities through shared interests.

The PP Analysis findings confirm this: the percentages of non-majority population feeling comfortable living in multi-ethnic municipalities correlates with the interaction with other ethnic communities during weekdays. It is obvious that we should encourage such interactions when working with communities.

The PP analysis also notes that the “belief” in reconciliation is also based on the perception of reconciliation measures in place and the level of satisfaction with the work of the authorities in promoting reconciliation. The underlying learning, then, is that the population needs to see how trust, social cohesion and reconciliation work in practice - before they can believe in these values.

Overall, the analysis indicates that reconciliation is possible. Yet, we also learnt that religion, ethnicity and language are defining factors: they either prevent interaction, are reasons for discrimination or make communities feel unsafe.

The analysis shows that, across communities, the engagement of municipalities, international community, citizens, and Kosovo institutions are perceived as key for a reconciliation. For us, this is an important finding as we are already working closely with central and municipal institutions, including NGOs, on advancing the leave no one behind approach. As UNDP, we are committed to advancing our work in that direction, to coordinate efforts with local institutions and other key stakeholders to increase the ownership and results in the area of social cohesion.

So, where do we go from here?

The findings, while perhaps not surprising, provide timely and important insights as to the actual situation “on the ground”. They provide us insights into what people perceive as social cohesion. As we plan our future programming, this analysis, together with other research on the subject, namely the joint work with Folke Bernadotte Academy on “Social Cohesion in Kosovo” and the lessons learnt from our own work provide us useful guidance.

1.     Engaging with youth to change the conflict narrative

Youth is Kosovo’s greatest asset and as such youn people’s energy, creativity and desire to make a better life for themselves should be used for the greater good of the society.

An obstacle which we should help overcome is the language barrier - youth in Kosovo does not speak each other’s languages, and while English is used as a lingua Franca, not speaking each other’s language is a barrier for social cohesion. It affects the understanding of “the other”, be it in the societal or cultural context, and it can continue to fuel the divisive narratives.

One great example of how language and youth contribute to trust-building is the design of English courses for street children, from Albanian and Serbian mentees. This joint work brought the mentees together – under the joint UN Youth for Kosovo project - and at the same time, provided a safe heaven, although, temporary, for these children who, otherwise, would not have this opportunity.

Other work, not just UNDP’s, indicate that youth feel disconnected and removed from decision-making processes. As such, they have little trust in institutions; this is that much truer for the youth from non-majority communities. We see this as an opportunity to build trust between youth and institutions by placing them at employment offices in the Prishtina and Mitrovica. Not only do these youth, from all communities, understand how an institution works, they have also developed knowledge and skills which will serve them in their careers. These youth are now able to question negative narratives thus break the vicious cycle of repeating negative narratives.

2.     Promoting social cohesion through cultural heritage

Society’s ability to recover from conflict is closely linked with the inclusion of cultural heritage as part of the process. It ensures a “thread of continuity” that links the post-conflict reality with a pre-conflict “normality”.

UNDP’s work in promoting and preserving cultural heritage has shown that it is a powerful tool to bridge ethnic and religious differences. The effects are amplified when communities, their leaders, and institutions are part of the solution – and have ownership of the process. Our projects have demonstrated that inter-community distrust can be reduced through cultural interactions, which prompt dialogue, build understanding and foster a shared sense of ownership of cultural heritage.

Amongst many great examples we have what stands out for me is the Prishtina Walks app, which we also replicated in Janjeve/o. Through the app, we have been able to capture the spirit of both Prishtina – and Janjevo - through individual stories. They shed light to a shared past. These apps are an opportunity – particularly for the younger generation - to learn about the history of Kosovo. It allows them to understand “what it used to be like”. By focusing on individual stories, we have brought to the forefront a human dimension to culture, heritage, social cohesion – free from politics and inflammatory rhetoric.