A group of foreign students headed
to Kosovo this end-of-May to embark on an experience that they
were hoping would be good. By end of June, as they were leaving
Kosova to head back to their home universities, they felt their
experience was awesome, life-changing, beyond expectations, and
inspirational.
Participants of the Balkans Peace
Program – Summer 2012: Post-Conflict Development in Kosovo, a
new program of TBG Foundation that started this year, felt that
they had benefited tremendously in terms of academics and
culture by having been part of this three-week program.
An educational program, the Balkans
Peace Program provided its participating students with the
opportunity to spend about three weeks in Kosovo studying and
learning about development in practice in a post-conflict area
right in the middle of Europe. Participants of the program
visited three other Balkans countries, Albania, Macedonia, and
Montenegro.
Apart from its academic character,
the program provided participants with a wonderful cultural
immersion opportunity. Foreign students participating in the
program were placed with local peers of the Gjilani College and
their families for the duration of their stay in Kosovo.
Some key highlights of the program
included meetings of the participants with the President of
Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga as well as the Speaker of Parliament of
Kosovo, Jakup Krasniqi. Program participants got to meet many
other high ranking government officials in Prishtina including
Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports, Hajdin Abazi, and
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Izmi Zeka, as well as the
Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of
Kosovo and leader of the opposition political party Vetevendosje!,
Albin Kurti. Program participants got to meet the Mayor of
Gjilan, Qemajl Mustafa, who treated them to dinner as well.
National media outlets, including
dailies and the public broadcaster of Kosova, RTK, covered the
program. Program participants were also featured in a couple of
reports of local news portals and a local TV show.
A six-day tour of historic sites in
Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia brought the program to its
end. A ceremony marking the completion of the program was held
at the Gjilani College and certificates of program completion
were handed out to each student by the President of TBG
Foundation, Tony Bislimi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Kosova, Ibrahim Gashi, and Dean of the Gjilani College, Naim
Mustafa.
Three Certificates of Appreciation were also handed out during
this ceremony. The Gjilani College presented Mr. Halit Bislimi,
Executive Director of TBG Foundation with a Certificate of
Appreciation for the foundation's and his invaluable support for
the BPP 2012. Whereas, on behalf of TBG Foundation, Tony Bislimi
presented a Certificate of Appreciation to the Gjilani College
for their excellent partnership in this program and to Mr. Halil
Korca for his invaluable support as a tour guide during the
three-country tour of the program.
What's been
said about the program - a few quotes:
“I thank you professor Bislimi
and your foundation for the excellent job you’re doing in
educating young people and in building cultural, academic, and
societal bridges between the young people of Kosova and their
peers abroad.”
Atifete Jahjaga
President of Kosova
"The
program was comprehensive in that there was an academic
aspect, time for socializing and connecting with local
people, official government visits, and the opportunity to
visit various sites in Kosova and some of the surrounding
countries. It would very difficult to experience the best of
Kosova any other way. Kosova is a beautiful and fascinating
place, rich in natural wonders, culture, history, and
hospitality. I would go back in heartbeat."
Jessica Alexander
Participant, Balkans Peace Program 2012
“There is no better way to
build the true image of Kosova and our people than by brining
here young scholars such as these students of your summer
program. This is an educational program that helps the world
better understand us and that helps us better see the world.”
Jakup Krasniqi
Speaker of the Parliament of Kosova
"My time in Kosovo on the BPP 2012 has put me on
a different trajectory as an educator of adolescents: I am now
driven to discuss grief, conflict, communication, and
reconciliation whenever possible with my students."
Gordon MacKinnon
Participant, Balkans Peace Program 2012
“Our city has been privileged
to have been the host of this program. TBG Foundation has
continuously brought honor and shine to our city, our community
and our country, through its educational programs. I am sure
Gjilan has now become a new home away from home for the foreign
students in this summer program.”
Qemajl Mustafa
Mayor of Gjilan
"Overall,
it was fortunate for me to learn an interesting topic like
post-conflict developments with the great professor who kept me
interested in the topic and my classmates who all are kind,
friendly and funny. At the same time, it was also lucky for me
that I could have shared a lot of wonderful experiences with
them, I believe."
Masayuki Kishimoto
Participant, Balkans Peace Program 2012
"This
program is one excellent way in which we can show the world what
Kosova and the region have to offer and what we have learned
from the past. I see this as a great way in which public
diplomacy can work. These foreign students can be our best
ambassadors throughout the world."
Ibrahim Gashi
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Government of Kosova
"I am
sure that nothing comes close to learning than the experience
itself. Coming on this program, I am confident, will turn out to
be a worthwhile endeavour for these students. What they learn
here in a very short time is what they will probably remember
for a long time."
Hajdin Abazi
Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports, Government of
Kosova
Some
Pictures from the BPP 2012:
BPP 2012 Participants
BPP students during a class meeting with
Professor Bislimi
BPP 2012 participants with President
Jahjaga (6th from the left)
With Speaker of the Parliament of Kosova,
Jakup Krasniqi (middle, standing)
With Deputy Minister of Culture, Hajdin
Abazi (4th from the right, standing)
With Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs,
Izmi Zeka (5th from the left, standing)
With Mayor of Gjilan, Qemajl Mustafa
(middle)
At the Gadime Cave, Kosova
Looking at the hilltop Castle of Prizren,
Kosova
View from the Castle of Shkoder, Albania
Visit at Mother Theresa's Birthplace in
Skopje, Macedonia
A view from the Castle of Ulqin,
Montenegro (pic taken by G. MacKinnon)
Sports time...
Professor Bislimi speaks on national TV
about BPP 2012
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Ibrahim Gashi, hands out Certificates of Completion to BPP
2012 participants
BPP 2012 Participants, TBG Foundation
Staff, and The Gjilani College Staff involved in the program
take a farewell pictures on the steps of the Gjilani
College, Gjilan, Kosova