Prishtina, 18 July, 2024
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, participated in the opening event of the 17th Seminar of Mergata Teachers. In his speech, the prime minister emphasized the importance of the work and dedication of teachers in teaching the mother tongue and knowledge of our culture to the children of the diaspora.
“We often talk about the diaspora, we are grateful for the help it has given to the homeland, especially during the liberation of Kosovo. The governments of Kosovo and Albania often organize meetings with prominent members of the diaspora and both countries have institutions that deal specifically with to keep alive the interest of the diaspora in the country of origin. However, in reality, our work in the homeland to strengthen ties with the diaspora would not bear much fruit, if it were not for you, who live and work in the heart of the scattered Albanian communities in Europe, North America and other parts of the world.” said Prime Minister Kurti.
Furthermore, he appreciated the role of teachers as missionaries of the Albanian language and Albanian culture in the world. “Your role today is no less than that of our revivalists more than a century ago. If the revivalists developed Albanian writing and planted the seeds and helped to hatch the first buds of our national culture in the diaspora at that time, and then brought what flourished in the homeland, you, through activities such as today’s, better prepare to convey the seeds of Albanianism abroad so that the Albanian culture can live there, alongside the local cultures. This is a dialectical process, diaspora-homeland-diaspora, which will be very important even during our century of globalizations, political integrations and the affirmation of national cultures.” said the prime minister.
Mentioning some of the achievements of the contribution and cooperation of the governments of Kosovo and Albania in this direction, Prime Minister Kurti expressed the importance of preserving and strengthening the Albanian identity in the diaspora, as a national duty.
“In my duty as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, as the head of the government, I am committed to ensuring that the support of our institutions is never lacking and continues to grow. I wish you a successful seminar in Pristina and greater achievements, more and more great in your noble duty!” Prime Minister Kurti finished his speech.
Prime Minister Kurti’s complete speech:
Earlier today during the day, I met Edona Qosja, who is here, a student at Harvard University, has finished a two-month internship at the Prime Minister’s Office. Edona, whose father is from Vuthajt and mother from Martinaj, father with the surname Qosja and mother with the surname Prelvukaj, together with other Albanian students studying at Harvard have managed to add the teaching of the Albanian language as a subject at this internationally renowned university. You never know, maybe in a few years these students will become teachers just like you.
Honorable Mrs. Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora,
Dear Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mrs. Arbërie Nagavci,
The honorable chairman of the Committee for Education, Science, Technology, Innovation, Culture, Youth and Sport, deputy in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Ardian Gola,
Honorable Mrs. Nina Guga, Deputy Minister of Education and Sports in the Republic of Albania,
Honorable Mrs. Liza Gashi, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora,
Honorable Mr. Taulant Kelmendi, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation,
The honorable Mr. Pjerin Lleshi, president of the League of Albanian Teachers in Greece,
Dear teachers of the Albanian language in the diaspora,
Dear attendees,
Ladies and gentleman,
I feel honored to be in front of you today, to wish you the success of the 17th seminar on teaching the Albanian language and Albanian culture in the diaspora. You know and feel how important and noble your work and dedication are in teaching the mother tongue and knowledge of our culture to children of the diaspora.
We often talk about the diaspora, we are grateful for the help it has given to the homeland, especially during the liberation of Kosovo. The governments of Kosovo and Albania often organize meetings with prominent members of the diaspora, and both countries have institutions that deal specifically with keeping the diaspora’s interest in the country of origin alive. However, in reality, our work in the homeland to strengthen ties with the diaspora would not bear much fruit, if it were not for you, who live and work in the midst of Albanian communities scattered in Europe, North America and other parts of the world.
The Albanian language is essential for our nation. It is not just a means of communication between us, but it is the concentration of the Albanian being. Albanian distinguishes Albanians as part of the world and those with the Albanian language build the world, wherever they are. Therefore, dear teachers, you are the missionaries of the Albanian language and Albanian culture in the world. Your role today is no less than that of our revivalists more than a century ago. If the renaissance people developed the Albanian writing and planted the seeds and helped to open the first buds of our national culture in the diaspora at that time, and then brought it to flourish in the homeland, you through activities, such as today’s, prepare yourself better for conveying the sprouts of Albanianism abroad so that the Albanian culture can live there, alongside the local cultures. This is a dialectical process, diaspora-homeland-diaspora, which will be very important even during our century of globalization, political integration and the affirmation of national cultures.
Diaspora, by its very nature, is multilingual. Local and official languages have priority over the mother tongue of newcomers who become part of the citizenship of the host countries. This is doubly true when the host language belongs to a larger and more developed nation than the target language. Newcomers have an interest in working and integrating in the respective nation. The native language is preserved very well in the first generation, but in the second and third generation of emigrants, who are already citizens with full rights, the language of the country of origin is preserved more in the identity function, in our case in function of being a member of the Albanian nation, even though physically far from the homeland.
The Albanian language is like the flame of Naim’s candle that must be kept burning in the soul of every Albanian who has left his homeland. Albanians are a diasporic nation. If we calculate the number of Albanians in Western Europe, it is greater than the number of Albanians living in North Macedonia, close to that in the Republic of Kosovo, taken separately, and perhaps even greater than the population of the Republic of Albania, when in the diaspora, in addition to that of Western Europe, we also include North America.
Therefore, a great deal of work is needed to maintain the strengthening of the Albanian identity in the diaspora, and you are at the forefront of this national task. Of course, you also need the help of the mother countries, the help of the countries with an Albanian majority. I am pleased to mention some achievements so far and the contribution of the governments of Kosovo and Albania.
First is the common curriculum for learning the Albanian language and Albanian culture in the diaspora; the common Albanian primer, which is also used in the diaspora; the unified content of the textbooks for the Albanian language and Albanian culture in the diaspora; the opening of 21 new classes in different places for diaspora children; in 2023 alone, close to 40,000 textbooks have been distributed to Albanian schools in the diaspora; 45,000 new textbooks for schools in the diaspora have been ordered for publication, to be distributed for the 2024-2025 school year; in May of this year, three workshops were organized with diaspora teachers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland; in September of this year, a meeting will be organized with the retired Albanian teachers of the diaspora, to express gratitude to them for their work, which many of them still continue, i.e. work even after retirement; we have supported trainings and seminars for diaspora teachers and excursions with children from different schools until the organization of this seminar, which will be followed by other seminars for the professional development of diaspora teachers.
In my duty as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, as the head of the government, I am committed to ensuring that the support of our institutions is never lacking and continues to grow. I wish you a successful seminar in Pristina and greater, ever greater achievements in your noble task!
Thank you.
Last modified: July 23, 2024