Pristina, 20 July 2022
Dear citizens of the Republic,
Welcome to the 89th meeting of the Government.
Yesterday was a very important day for the Western Balkans and its journey towards integration into the European Union. Once again, I congratulate to the Republic of Albania and the Republic of North Macedonia on the opening of accession negotiations with the European Union. We rejoice in this historic achievement of both countries. This decision of the European Union increases our commitment to reforms that transform and strengthen our region and therefore Europe.
Meanwhile, from Friday, our country for the first time will host one of the most important international cultural events, “Manifesta” the nomadic biennial.
Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, this year, Manifesta has a 100-day program, which includes 25 locations, 55 artistic interventions and 102 local and international participants. The organization of this event is proof of the ability of our society, the artistic community and our institutions to welcome such a large number of artists and to transform the capital into a space of contemporary art. In addition to the cultural aspect, the Manifesta will undoubtedly be a very good opportunity to promote our country, values and art.
Taking this important cultural event as a trigger, allow me to briefly share with you some of our main achievements so far in the field of Culture:
– Concrete steps are being taken to reform the legal framework. For the first time, a real analysis has been made by a constellation of institutional stakeholders at the central and local level, non-governmental organizations and the broad cultural and artistic community in order to draft the Concept Document for Culture which will soon be brought to the Government meeting for voting.
– We founded the institution of the Kosovo Opera. Kosovo for the first time has an annual Opera program for 2022. The annual Opera program has successfully completed its presentation with performances and educational presentations on opera education for children “Edu Opera” in 10 public music schools in Kosovo.
– The agreement for Kosovo’s participation in the new program of the European Union “Creative Europe” for 2021-2027 has also been reached and approved by the Government. This program creates new spaces for our artistic community for the promotion of activity in the country and abroad, and at the same time strengthens the position of the Republic of Kosovo on the European cultural map.
– In order to promote visual arts in Kosovo, in the continuation of the work for the establishment of the museum of contemporary art, the Initiating Council of the Museum of Contemporary Art has been formed, which has begun work with the aim of establishing the institution of the Museum, creating the organizational system, concept and program, as well as the preparation of the Museum’s collection.
– Similarly, during this period we opened the call for the purchase of works of art from local artists, to which 370 applicants responded. The value allocated for this call was 300 thousand euros. The purchased works will belong to the State Art Fund and will be used for cultural diplomacy of our state, exhibiting them in the main diplomatic points of the Republic of Kosovo.
Therefore, Kosovo is entering the world map for culture. Our artists are hardworking and talented. With their work, they have managed to have the name Kosovo mentioned several times in famous cultural scenes. The government is here for infrastructure. We will create the conditions so that new talents and current artists don’t have to worry about anything other than their inspiration and deepening their imagination.
Therefore, the arrival of the “Manifesta” festival makes me very happy and this achievement of ours makes us all proud.
Thank you
Last modified: July 21, 2022