OSCE Mission organizes language classes for youth in Kosovo

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo has started a set of three-month Albanian and Serbian language classes for youth belonging to Kosovo Albanian, Kosovo Serb, Kosovo Bosniak, and Kosovo Roma communities residing in the municipality of Obiliq/Obilić. The courses will run from March to June 2019.

20 Kosovo Serb, Kosovo Bosniak, and Kosovo Roma youth attended their first Albanian language class on 18 March in the village of Plemetin/Plemetina, while the group of 11 Kosovo Albanian youngsters started their Serbian classes on 21 March. The Deputy Mayor for Communities; the Communities’ Committee Chairperson; the Director of the Youth Centre; and the President of the Local Youth Action Council of Obiliq/Obilić are also attending the classes.

During the three-month period, participants will have the unique opportunity of getting familiar with the language of their peers from other communities. As such activities are still not a part of the formal education system, extra-curricular language learning helps youth from different communities acquire basic skills in each other’s language, enabling easier communication and overcoming language barriers.

“I am very happy with this initiative, especially because so many young people have shown interest in learning each other’s language,” said the Deputy Mayor for Communities in Obiliq/Obilić, Slaviša Jakovljević, adding that although he already partly speaks Albanian, he decided to participate to inspire others to join the language classes.

The initiative is part of the OSCE Mission’s ongoing efforts to promote and enhance inter-community relations, dialogue and tolerance. Additionally, this activity is a follow-up to the Inter-municipal Declaration signed in 2016, whereby the municipalities of Prishtinë/Priština, Gračanica/Graçanicë, Shtime/Štimlje, Lipjan/Lipljan, Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje and Obiliq/Obilić committed themselves to enhancing their co-operation on inter-community issues, specifically among youth.