On November 27, the Salon with the theme: “Youth sector in times of pandemic: Achievements and challenges in the Municipality of Gjakova” was held. Part of the panel in this Salon were: Saranda Hyseni-Maloku, Director DKRS, Municipality of Gjakova and Zymber Berisha – Head of Sector for Education, Municipality of Gjakova.
Mrs. Saranda Hyseni Maloku started the discussion by announcing the difficulties that the Municipality of Gjakova has encountered during the time we are facing a pandemic, and especially the difficulties that the youth of this municipality are going through. Despite the restrictions imposed by the relevant state institutions, in accordance with these restrictions, the Municipality of Gjakova has conducted activities electronically through the Zoom and Google Meet platforms, so that the activities are not completely extinguished as this negatively affects the emotional state of young people in this municipality. Mrs. Hyseni Maloku showed that during this time an exhibition, theatrical performances and other cultural activities have been organized electronically, which in an ordinary year are done by very active young people of the Municipality of Gjakova in open spaces and with many participants. One of the concerns of Mrs. Hyseni Maloku was the non-application of young people to benefit from funds from the Directorate of Culture, Youth and Sports in this Municipality, which has a budget of about 20,000 euros which is specifically allocated for projects coming from young people in the Municipality of Gjakova .
Mr. Zymber Berisha shared with the fellow panelist and participants in the Facebook network the experiences and difficulties that the Directorate of Education of the Municipality of Gjakova encountered in the beginning of the school year 2020/2021, a year which started late, in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Education and Science, where the latter compiled a Guide for the progress of the teaching process in the schools of Kosovo municipalities. In accordance with the measures set by the National Institute of Public Health in Kosovo, Mr. Berisha indicated that students have held several activities during this school year, although this year they were more difficult to achieve. The activities developed within the schools of the Municipality of Gjakova were as follows: Olympic Competition June 15-22, realized through videos which were evaluated by the Kosovo Olympic Committee; Competition for the best drawing with the theme “What makes you happy” realized with the support of the Finnish Embassy; In coordination and with support from GIZ, the champion schools of the Municipality of Gjakova have implemented the project for the best space and school; The activity “United against pollution” was developed, and others. Among other things, Mr. Berisha revealed the challenges that passed this year, thus emphasizing the fact of infection of teachers, which imposed the closure of the respective classes by passing students in scenario C of learning, according to the Guide from the Ministry of Education and Science, which created a challenge in itself as a result of not possessing adequate means to engage in online learning. As a result, other organizations and actors were mobilized by donating to the Municipality of Gjakova tools such as tablets or laptops for students who needed them to attend classes.
At the end of the salon, both panelists called for increased cooperation between non-governmental organizations and the Municipality of Gjakova, as well as for increasing applications for youth projects in the Municipality of Gjakova.
The moderation of this Salon was realized by Ideal Zhaveli, President, KVRL – Gjakova, from which the editorial will be written.
