Hajde Bre! Summer Camp Documentary Screening

In the summer of 2022, #RCT Activity held the Hajde Bre! Summer Camp. This camp was designed to bring together young people from across Kosovo and many ethnic backgrounds to learn about different cultures, build friendships, and promote peace and understanding. The filmmakers spent several days at the camp, interviewing participants and #RCT Activity team, capturing footage of the various activities, and immersing themselves in the unique and vibrant culture of the camp. When they returned home, they spent months editing the footage into a powerful and moving documentary.

They reached out to the camp organizers, as well as local media outlets and cultural organizations, to promote the screening.

When the night of the premiere finally arrived, the theater was packed with people from all across Kosovo and representatives of several institutions. As the lights went down and the film began to play, there was a palpable sense of excitement and anticipation in the air.

Over the next thirty minutes, the audience was taken on a journey through the camp, from the opening ceremonies to the final goodbyes. They saw how the campers from different backgrounds and cultures came together to learn from each other and build lasting friendships, while at the same time learning more about important skills such as, photography and content writing. These skills gained by the participants were also promoted using the booklet that was created titled ‘Eyes of the Mountain.’ This booklet combined some of the photographs as well as, content stories written by the Summer Camp’s participants.

The screening of the documentary was followed up by panel discussion consisting of trainers, the filmmakers, activity staff and the deputy minister of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Sylejman Elshani.

But perhaps the most meaningful success of the screening was the impact it had on the young people who attended the Hajde Bre! Summer Camp. Many of them were inspired by the camp to become more active in their communities and to work towards a brighter, more peaceful future for Kosovo and the region as a whole.

Here is the link to the activity video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLZs15L-1Fk

This event is part of the Reconciliation & Conflict Transformation Activity, implemented by Community Building Mitrovica and partners from New Social Initiative and Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Kosovo (YIHR KS), and supported by the American people through USAID Kosovo.

Hajde Bre! Winter Camp

Unfortunately, it has become common for youngster from various ethnic backgrounds to rarely meet and have contact with each other in Kosovo. #RCT Activity is work directly in influencing this negative phenomenon by bringing youngster together in exciting, and productive environments. By being able to spend time and interact with each other they will be able to create life-lasting memories and experience, and most importantly break the communication barrier.

#RCT Activity organized the 3-day Hajde Bre! Winter Camp in the beautiful Brezovica Mountain Range. During the camp, the students were trained by a professional team on Video Production and Editing skills in ethnically mixed groups. In these groups, they taught the basics and then the mode switch to learning by doing. Students selected a marketing theme to create short ads using basic technology and were taught how to write a short script, story board, recording technics, and how to edit and render the videos.

During this time, the youngsters were working together, but at same time broadening their horizons by learning skills and abilities that will enable to them to take on different responsibilities in the future, especially when it comes to potential employment. On the other hand, the teamwork and process allowed them to be in constant communication each other blossoming into many new friendships with people that that do not get to interact with during their routine. The youngsters stated that they are very happy to be able to meet new people that otherwise would have been difficult and that they are confident that they have built bonds that will continue to maintain even after the ending of the camp.

One youngster named Elmir stated: “I am very happy to have been part of this camp. We learn a skill that I think will be very valuable for my future education and work, and at the same time I have made friends with new people coming from backgrounds different then my own. I am truly hoping that I will be able to continue meeting people from other communities and make more friends as life goes on.”

Another youngster named Almeida also said: “I was a bit worried that I would have a hard time connecting with the other people, but while working and interacting with everyone, it came very naturally, and we spend the entire time laughing and having fun while also working during the trainings and activities. I am very much looking forward to becoming part of more initiatives like this is the future, so that I can make even more friends and meet new people.”

Many more students stated the benefit of the camp for their personal and professional development in the future. Gaining more hard and soft skills, such as, video production, editing, content writing, intercultural communication, negotiation, teamwork, and more to follow on.

#RCT Activity will continue to promote activities of these types to make sure that youngster from Kosovo can continue to meet their peer from different communities and establish life-long friendships. The students of this camp have continuously stated that they will make sure to spend time outside of their camps as well and to make sure that they can broaden these friendships with even more activities in the future.

Poetry Night by Sub-Grantee: NGO CASA

While poetry as a form of art that nowadays is not as common as music or painting, it is still very much alive. During a poetry reading one can discover much about themselves but also about the people that you are enjoying the activity together with. Listening to the poetries can invoke deep emotions as they are read out by the authors, and sharing this space with people from a large variety of backgrounds that you do not normally meeting on your daily routine makes it all the more special. Poetries usually follow a variety of themes, such as, love, friendship, and connection, as themes very much at the heart of youth.

#RCT sub-grantees NGO CASA brought together poets and community members alike for a night of poetry reading, with the poets coming from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. The poetries were read out in their original language of writing; however, translations were provided as part of the booklet that was disseminated to all participants and printed for further distribution. This way everyone was able to listen to the original voice while being able to understand every word expressed.

The booklet created by CASA is titled ‘Cultural Heritage in the making – Young Poets of Kosovo,’ and it complied the work of all ten poets together. They were all written in Albanian or Serbian, and translated so that any community member of Kosovo can appreciate them. Reconciliation is a complex process that requires much work from all actors of citizens life. Art as a form of communication often can be more effective in conveying emotions and perceptions that are otherwise difficult to express.

#RCT Activity will continue to promote events of this type to make sure that youngsters and other community members from various backgrounds can continue to engage with one another in stimulating environments over their interest and excitement for art, friendship, and more. Spaces like this of interaction and pleasant atmosphere are vital to the reconciliation process addressing issues from a creative perspective and will continue to foster the process of moving forward.

Exchange of Members of Cohesion Circles – Visit in Pristina

Communication and interactivity are two concepts that usually revolve around the world of youth. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all youngsters from Kosovo. Youth from different ethnic backgrounds do not get the chance to interact and talk to one another, and this can have a negative impact on broadening their horizons and perspective of living full and productive lives in the future.

The RCT activity is working towards resolving this issue to provide youngster from varying backgrounds the space and time to meet with one another in stimulating environments, while enabling them to talk and interact with one another informally as well.

This time the team organized a visit to Pristina, gathering a group of youngsters from the Cohesion Circles from the Mitrovica, Gracanica/Graçanicë and Pristina/Prishtina regions, with the aim of creating an environment for all to meet up, exchange knowledge and create positive experiences. During the visit, the youngster had the opportunity to visit NGO Artpolis, NGO Shtatëmbëdhjetë, and the exhibition PËRPARA, which provided discussion and insights into different cultural and social perspectives. The youngster were able to interact with the staff of these NGO inquiring more information about their work and background, but also learn more about opportunities that they offer for involvement of youth into their activities.

Apart from the visits to NGO, the participants were also engaged with a walk through the city, which enabled the students the possibility to interact with one another in a non-formal setting, while spotting interesting local landmarks and discussing common issues, challenges and interests.

The participants stated that they were very pleased with experience gained during the day, and that it has helped them to see that there are so many more aspects that can connect youngster from communities that usually do not interact with one another. They also stated that they are very much looking forward to other study visits that might be organized in the future, so that they may learn even more, but also to be provided with the chance to meet more youngsters from various backgrounds

One of the participants, Dusan Tanaskovic said: “The information and sights that we saw today were very interesting, and we had a lot of fun interacting with our peers. We hope that we will be able to continue engaging with one another in the near future in these types of activities, as we are able to make friends, while learning more about the different things.”

The activities were followed up with a lunch for all participants and the team, where they will be able to continue their discussion and debates on a variety of topics. RCT through its component strives to create more environment like this, where youngsters can interact, communicate, and create positive experiences, and be every day a step closer to the important processes such as reconciliation and building trust among communities in Kosovo.

Living Library event in Pristina

Yesterday’s activity “Living Library” took place at hotel “Sirius” in Prishtina, and it was all about gaining new perspectives and insights, thanks to our wonderful guest speakers Lidija and Petar.

The event provided the chance to get inspired and educated by the knowledge and experience in activism of our guest speakers yesterday. This event brought together various communities, and they were able to engage with the guest speakers all together. The attendees had the opportunity to hear personal and professional stories from our guest speakers, their challenges and successes through the years and gain new perspectives and get inspired for the future.

Petar: “It can be challenging to engage young people and help them develop active listening skills. It was really hard sometimes to make them just sit and listen. However, it is important to remember that everyone can improve their listening skills with practice and patience. Encouraging open-ended questions, repetition and summarization, and creating a supportive environment can all help to foster better listening habits.”

Lidija: “In the past, prior to my involvement as an activist, I held a different worldview. Over time, my perspectives have evolved and I now view the world through a lens of heightened awareness and objectivity. The experiences and events that once surrounded me are now perceived in a new light, shaped by a more expansive and inclusive mindset.”

The idea behind this activity is to always let you explore the world by stories shared, and to provide more insight on how such examples can be transferred and nourished in Kosovo to create future generations of change-makers.

Storytelling in a form of a podcast – Flamur Abazaj

Education is a very strong instrument towards every process, throughout the storytelling component we strived to use this to remind people once again of the importance of shared values, reconciliation, and cooperation. #RCT Activity for the last podcast episode for this year had the pleasure to host Flamur Abazaj, lecturer and researcher. Pointing out the educational part of the reconciliation process and the importance of implying the interethnic element in the process of teaching.

Flamur, is a lecturer at the International Business College Mitrovica, part of the Public Administration and Welfare program, he is as well researcher as part of his Ph.D. that is currently finishing at the University of Ljubljana, and has a background of work in various multi-ethnic projects/activities within and outside Kosovo.

He started the conversation by sharing his story, he was born in Germany and then moved back to Kosovo with his family, and later on, he had the opportunity to spend the last year of high school in the United States of America. When he went there, he found out that he is going to be a roommate with a Serb who came from Belgrade to finish the same program. As he keeps sharing that at first, he was a bit skeptical about how it will go, but it turned out on an extraordinary experience for him and his friend from Serbia, as he states “I have been very open about the experience and I had an extremely good experience with him, and we still keep in touch even though it has been 11 years from then, but since then I have been encouraged by this kind of rhetoric within my life, to meet people from different background and learn from them”.

When it comes to the obstacles that stop people from the reconciliation process, as Flamur says there are many people that have never communicated with people from other communities, whereas om the other side many people who even for once that have communicated with people from different communities have positive thoughts on that and are willing to continue that. He stated also the importance of finding the right approach to stimulate communication, cooperation, and reconciliation between different ethnic groups in Kosovo.

We ended the conversation with Flamur with his message “World is a very big place but at the same time very small, so meet as many new people as you can, be open as much as you can, and learn from people, even from the people that you will not get well along, just be open-minded and keep going”.

This was the sixth and the last episode of the podcast recording as part of the Storytelling component part of the Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation Activity, other podcasts will be on the way with inspiring and positive stories on reconciliation and the trust-building process in Kosovo.
This event was a part of the Reconciliation & Conflict Transformation Activity, implemented by Community Building Mitrovica and partners from New Social Initiative and Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Kosovo, and supported by the American people through USAID Kosovo.

Storytelling in a form of a podcast – Trailer, Flamur Abazaj

In our last RCT podcast for 2022, we were pleased to have Flamur Abazaj, lecturer and researcher from Mitrovica South.

The full video of the podcast will be available soon on the RCT website.

This event was a part of the Reconciliation & Conflict Transformation Activity, implemented by Community Building Mitrovica and partners from New Social Initiative and Youth Initiative for Human Rights – Kosovo, and supported by the American people through USAID Kosovo.

TOR: Communications / Monitoring and Learning Officer

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Communications /Monitoring and Learning Officer

Duration of engagement:

12 months, with possibility for extension

Percentage of engagement:

Full time, 100%

Overall Objective of the Activity

Addressing present reconciliation needs between different ethnic groups in Kosovo on the individual, community, and institutional levels. The ultimate goal of the Activity is to contribute to having a society where there is proactive cooperation, peaceful co-existence of various groups, and democratic values for all citizens. Additionally, an added value and effort through this Activity is to advocate for societal and institutional changes influencing public policies and ensuring good governance and respect for human rights.

Purpose of the Assignment

The Communications /Monitoring and Learning Officer will be responsible for leading the communications or public relations actions within the Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation (#RCT) Activity. The Communications Officer will work in close cooperation with the management of the organization to develop and implement communications strategies and goals. They will be responsible for the content creation, content management, and outreach of the Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation (#RCT) activities on official social media platforms to further strengthen the #RCT’s online visibility and further outreach to a broader audience. In addition, this person will also be responsible for ensuring the application of the “do no harm policy”, collecting data for the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (MELp), collecting data to regularly update the MELp, project relevant reporting, and updating the plan and indicators on a yearly basis. The officer will ensure that the team is accordingly updated on the MELp progress and advise on the set outputs in order to reach the projected indicators.

Duties and Responsibilities

Appointed communications officer to be engaged in the following:

Activity Communications

Work closely with the RCT Team, and CBM management to ensure that relevant activity materials such as success stories, donor reports, proposals, factsheets, infographics, etc. are developed and disseminated to donors and target groups through relevant media and network channels.
Assist program officer(s) in the proposal development stage to identify appropriate communication activities for the projects.
Create content for the published materials, pamphlets, visual documentation, and support the think-tank in the promotion of the research and studies.

Media Relations

Develop and maintain contact information, materials, and relationships with Kosovo journalists and media outlets (print, TV, radio, web etc.) to increase coverage of the Activity.
Draft and edit articles, press releases, human interest stories, and other advocacy/information materials.
Collaborate with the media by organizing project site visits, facilitate photo coverage and TV footage, and utilizing both web-based and traditional media as appropriate.
Monitor and evaluate the use and effectiveness of media materials.
Maintain an online database of the Activity material.

Digital Communications/Social media Maintainance

Regular updates of the RCT website and social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) such as daily monitoring, posting, and content development.

Brand and Communications

Assist the Chief of Party and other staff at public events.
Ensure timely and quality production of branding materials such as annual and donor outreach reports, capturing picture stories, videos, etc.
Develop and archive communication materials, including digital, such as publications, press releases, clippings, photographs, audio-visual materials, web resources, etc.
Closely following donors’ visibility guidelines and applying it to the RCT Activity’ needs.
Making sure that partners or any party involved in the Activity are applying donor visibility requirements.

Events/campaigns

Assist in organizing and generating public support for special events and campaigns to promote Activity goals.
Support the organization of workshops, seminars, campaigns, events, and project review meetings including agendas and meeting minutes.

Monitoring and evaluation

Monitor and evaluate the impact of communication materials and advocacy events/campaigns to target audiences for the purposes of reporting.

MELp

Setting indicators against outputs in a timely manner and in line with the Activity planning.
Update the plan accordingly.
Inform the team on any possible changes, advise with according procedures to be followed when organizing activities.
Reporting quarterly and yearly on the progress.
Updating MELp on a quarterly period if needed.
Updating indicators accordingly and informing the team about the progress for future planning.

Competencies

Experience and knowledge:

Minimum of 2-5 years relevant experience in a communications role;
Poses a satisfactory knowledge of desktop publishing software (i.e. InDesign/Photoshop, and/or other designing tools).
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills.
Excellent time management and organizational skills.
Proficient in Microsoft Office, content management systems, and social media platforms.
Proficient in oral and written English Language.
Understanding other local languages different from their mother tongue is an asset.
Experience in writing, monitoring, and reporting MELp

Professionalism:

Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. The candidate should have a high level of integrity, accountability, and punctuality and be willing to work independently and within the team.

Deadline and submission of expression of interest

Interested parties should submit the following cover letter and CV to procurement@cbmitrovica.org with mail subject: RCT: Communications/MEL Officer

Deadline to apply: December 19, 17:00h

[EXTENDED] Open Call for Journalist and Media

Background

Community Building Mitrovica (CBM) is a local non-governmental organization (NGO) operating in the field of peace and community building in the wider region of Mitrovica, northern municipalities of Kosovo. The overall aim of CBM is to facilitate contact and dialogue between citizens in the whole Mitrovica municipality. CBM’s staff consists of devoted citizens – both Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians– who grew up in this region and want to restore the previous confidence and even friendship that war and politics have destroyed. By supporting many concrete projects which address the direct needs of the local communities, CBM contributes to this goal. The work of the past years has gained the organization a strong reputation on both sides of the Iber/Ibar river. Along with partners- New Social Initiative from North Mitrovica and Youth Initiative for Human Rights CBM implements a five-year-long Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation Activity (RCT) supported by the American People through USAID.

Overall Objective of the Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation (RCT) Activity

The overall objective of the Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation (RCT) Activity is to transform existing conflicts and build peace, predominantly among majority ethnic Kosovo Albanians and minority ethnic Kosovo Serbs. The RCT Activity is helping communities on the individual level by assisting in better mutual understanding of the differences and emphasizing joint strengths, as well as on the policy level, where the impact of the RCT Activity is influencing amending policies that are addressing reconciliation processes among divided communities. More so, socio-economic value is assisting local communities with social innovations that address societal challenges whereas the local economy stakeholders are benefiting from the promotion of public-private partnerships. From the media promotion aspect, the RCT activity is helping communities stimulate sharing their diverse values.

Purpose

The RCT Activity is opening a call for journalists and media to support positive stories in various format that showcase reconciliation, peacebuilding and cooperation across ethnic lines in Kosovo.

Maximum Grant Amount per concept note/idea: 750 USD

Maximum number of supported ideas: 4

Deadline for application: 8th of February, 2023

Objective of the call

The RCT Activity seeks to contribute to changing social behavior at the local level towards making it more friendly to reconciliation and cohesion-building. By supporting media outlets and journalists to produce and share positive reconciliation stories with the wider Kosovo audience, RCT wants to foster generating stories that contribute towards peacebuilding. In addition, RCT wants to encourage media cooperation across different areas in Kosovo, their cooperation across all communities.

Who can apply?

Journalists and media (radio, tv, online newspapers)
Stories, articles, reportage must be related to the objective of the call, showcasing multiethnic cooperation in any way/field and promote peacebuilding
Applicants cannot apply with ideas that have already been broadcasted in the media, social media or anywhere else.
The product (reportage, story etc.) should refrain from any hate speech or inappropriate language.

Eligibility criteria

Media (TVs, radio, online newspapers, etc.):

If the Applicant apply on behalf of the media, the media must be:
Legally registered in Kosovo for a minimum period of 12 months prior to the deadline for submission of the proposal
The applicant or media need to be based in Kosovo

Individuals:

Working in any media that are registered in Kosovo
The final product (i.e. story, reportage, article etc.) must be posted in the media they work for or any other media of their choice
If suitable, applicants are encouraged to apply in cooperation with journalists/media from different communities

Note that applicants:

May not submit more than one application under this call
May not be supported more than once in this call
May not be a co-applicant in another application under this call

Concept note/idea that include the following will NOT be accepted:

Concept note/idea that DO NOT in any way contribute to the achievement of the objective of this call (the Applicant must ensure that the component of reconciliation, conflict transformation and peacebuilding is central to the proposed idea)
Actions related to political parties and/or political campaigns
Actions that are mainly related to individual sponsorship for participation in workshops, seminars, conferences, and congresses

Application and submission

All applications must be written in English
Any annexes (if submitted) should be clearly stated as such

Concept note/idea

The concept note/idea should not exceed more than two pages. There is no specific form, please chose a template that fits best the purpose of your proposal, clearly stating who is applying and other important information. The concept note/idea should contain sufficient information for an independent reader to understand exactly what the applicant wants to achieve.

Visibility

Applicants must be prepared to publicize the fact that they are financed within the framework of the Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation Activity by American People through USAID implemented by Community Building Mitrovica (CBM). Applicants must be prepared to acknowledge specific donor’s visibility guidelines and regulations.

Emir Hasani – Storytelling in a form of a podcast

Music is a powerful tool that bring individuals together, promote trust, empathy, and often send a strong powerful message. #RCT Activity, in fifth podcast episode, hosted Emir Hasani, a Program Director of Mitrovica Rock School, a place that connects teenagers coming from Kosovo Serbs, Kosovo Albanians, and other communities through music. It brings back a music tradition that makes divided city proud. And it invests in the city’s young people’s potentials.

This was the fifth episode of the podcast recording as part of the Storytelling component of the Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation Activity. Upcoming podcast episodes will be on the way with inspiring and positive stories on reconciliation and the trust-building processes in Kosovo.

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