Prishtinë/Priština, 11 March 2020

Speech by Maria Suokko, UNDP Kosovo Resident Representative

Dear Minister Dumoshi

Dear Stefano,

Dear friends, partners and colleagues

Almost 2 years ago, this project came to being. The project embarked on a very ambitious path to bringing the cultural and religious heritage closer to people and show the importance of it. This was a second phase of the project, building on the results of the first phase. However, it had expanded its focus through partnering with civil society organisations - to present the cultural and religious heritage in an innovative manner.

The project achieved its goals by completing all outputs and thus contributing to promoting inter-community dialogue. Some of the examples include the involvement of the Kosovo Security Force in rehabilitation of the important religious site; training of guides from different ethnic communities, and ensuring the revival of important craft that many communities see it as part of their tradition.

All these interventions were demanding, yet very important to promoting cultural heritage and inter-community dialogue.

During the 22 months, the project has been working on the restoration and rehabilitation of 18 cultural and religious sites belonging to different religious and ethnic groups: the Catholic Cathedral in Prizren, Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Prizren and the Jewish cemetery in Prishtinë/Priština - to mention a few. While the physical interventions at cultural and religious sites may be seen as just rehabilitating a certain building, the effects go way beyond that. Our intervention at the Catholic Cathedral resulted in re-consecration of it restoring its purpose for the catholic community and a place for touristic visit for all. Similarly, the involvement of the Kosovo Security Forces in construction works around the Monastery of Saint Archangels in Prizren.

These examples show how important it is to show to the public that cultural and religious sites are a common good that deserves and needs to respected -  and preserved for the benefit of all.

The project also paid considerable attention to engaging with NGOs and individuals through creative and constructive interventions using different approached, encouraging participation from various communities, and particularly engaging youth and women. These include innovative approaches such as mobile phone apps to showcase the history and importance of Prishtinë/Priština and Janjevë/Janjevo. And these are not  just app showing the history of these two locations, they allow for collecting stories from people coming from all walks of life and social backgrounds. Through public and private visual sources, the apps have made it possible to collect and record oral testimonies of how people remember these locations. This is a way of systematically documenting cultural specificities of communities that lived in these places over the past hundred years.

The project has also focused on trainings on traditional crafts, creating the space for youth and women from different communities so that these traditional crafts are not forgotten. Through our project more than 500 people have participated either directly or have been somewhat involved in various events.

The institutional support to Kosovo Police, tasked with providing physical security to most important religious sites in Kosovo, was another aspect of our project. The project has supported installation of high-quality CCTV at 6 sites throughout Kosovo. This has increased Kosovo Police’s ability in deterring criminal or other harmful behaviour on these sites. The Kosovo Police was also instrumental in supporting the organisation of a Youth Camp, gathering more than 45 school children, teaching them as to why the cultural and religious sites are important to preserve and protect for the generations to come.

Cooperation with municipalities was in the centre of the project. Through the project, we have been able to increase the understanding of more than 70 municipal staff from 15 different municipalities on the importance of cultural heritage and economic development. We have also showcased this inter-connectedness through examples of Berat and Tirana and the manner these two communities have - and are - using their wealth of cultural heritage to bring in the tourists, and the significant income they bring.

Allow me to spend a few moments the highlight the great cooperation we have had with all partners. Without Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports’  backing and support throughout the project, and the municipal leadership from 15 municipalities and the religious communities, the project would have not happened. Their unreserved support was crucial so that my colleagues were able to implement the project. Equally important, the political and financial backing from the EU’s Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace and the EU office in Kosovo set the project in motion and gave the direction that we see the results now. I am very happy and proud to have had such a great donor and partner who was involved and participated in all aspects of the project.

Cultural heritage takes many shapes and forms. Yet, all these project interventions had a common theme: creating a space for social cohesion as a way forward for all communities in Kosovo: from rehabilitation of cultural and religious sites, to supporting youth, women and civil society organisations to Kosovo institutions - so that the places, crafts, and traditions are preserved. While we were able to achieve a lot through this project, we should not stop here, but engage even more. The cultural heritage is the heritage for all - and should as such continue be protected, preserved as well as promoted. Because Kosovo has a lot to show and be proud of.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank Sehadin, Lena, Arber, and Blerta, for their wonderful work and tenacity, which has ensured that this project is a success.

Thank you!