Pristina, September 26, 2022
The date 26 September is marked throughout Europe as the European Day of Languages, based on the conviction that linguistic diversity is a means of achieving increased intercultural understanding and that it is an element of the continent’s rich cultural heritage. Citizens across Europe are constantly encouraged to discover and learn new languages.
Kosovo is a multilingual society and this value has deep roots in our country.
During this year that we are leaving behind, together with the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation and the Office of the Languages Commissioner:
– We established the Balkan Program at the University of Pristina, where students from all communities can learn the languages of the Balkan peoples. This academic year, 15 students have enrolled in the program and we hope that this number will increase in the coming years;
– The curricular framework of Kosovo has opened the possibility of integrating the languages of the communities as optional subjects;
– We pushed forward the initiative to establish a unit for translation and harmonization, which will deal with multilingual legislation;
– We supported the operation of the online platform “VOC-UP” for learning languages, through which more than 70,000 citizens of Kosovo have received at least basic knowledge of the Albanian or Serbian language.
Congratulating this day, Prime Minister Kurti expressed his appreciation for the cooperation so far with the Commissioner of Languages within the Office of the Prime Minister, Slaviša Mladenovic.
Kosovo remains strongly committed to promoting the value of multilingualism, considering that this value is a means of preserving the rich and diverse character of our society.
The Government of the Republic of Kosovo will also redouble its efforts to ensure the protection of the right to use official languages.
Happy European Day of Languages!
Last modified: September 27, 2022