Pristina, 22 July 2022
Today, the Office of the Prime Minister, through the Office for Community Affairs, held the conference on the promotion of multi-ethnic employment in institutions. This conference was attended by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, the Deputy Prime Minister for Minority Affairs and Human Rights in the Republic of Kosovo, Emilija Redžepi, the Advisor for Community Affairs to the Prime Minister, Elizabeth Katherine Gowing, and the Deputy Head of the Mission of Norwegian Embassy, Jenny Stenberg.
In his introductory speech, Prime Minister Kurti expressed his satisfaction at this conference, which, as he said, reflects our rich diversity and the future of our institutions. At the same time, the Prime Minister thanked the Embassy of Norway in Kosovo for the great support it has given to the Office for Community Affairs within the Office of the Prime Minister, for the internship program during this year and previous years.
“By engaging 100 young interns, with priority given to young people from non-majority communities, together we have enabled internships for young people from all communities”, emphasized Prime Minister Kurti, who also expressed his curiosity to hear from the interns about their experiences from the internship, hoping that they have learned things that can serve them for their future professional careers.
The interns of the program within the Office of the Prime Minister talked about their journey and the opportunity to be part of this office, while they thanked the Prime Minister for the space given to them to become part of the country’s institutions.
“I assure you that you will have my support for the successful start of your professional careers within our institutions. Because these institutions do not belong to the government but to you and you are at home in these institutions. You do not belong only to a special community but to the profession which you will exercise diligently and without obstacles in your workplace” said, among others, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.
The full speech of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti:
Dear Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Mrs. Emilija Rexhepi,
Honorable Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Norway in Kosovo, Mrs. Jenny Stenberg,
Dear Mr. Igor Rasic from the international organization for migration IOM,
Dear advisor for Community Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office, Mrs. Elizabeth Gowing,
Dear interns,
Dear attendees,
It is a pleasure to be here with you today in this room that reflects our rich diversity and the future of our institutions.
I want to thank the Embassy of Norway in Kosovo, for the great support it has given to the Office for Community Affairs within the Office of the Prime Minister, for the internship program during year and previous years. I am also grateful for the supporting this conference, which aims to promote multi-ethnic employment in our institutions.
By engaging 100 young interns, with priority given to young people from non-majority communities, together we have provided internships for young people from all communities. These young people are attending internship in the Office of the Prime Minister, in the Assembly of Kosovo and in the following Ministries:
- Local Government Administration
- Justice
- Finance
- Culture, Youth and Sport
- Protection
- Internal Affairs
- Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, and
- Regional Development
So, eight ministries and the office of the Prime Minister will be the places where these 100 interns will be able to perform the new tasks and commitments they will have.
But, not only that, also in municipal institutions and non-governmental organizations in a total of 16 municipalities, from Leposavic to Prizren, from Peja to Ranilug.
I am curious to hear from you today about the experiences from the internship, and I hope and trust that you have learned things that can serve you in your further professional career.
But I’m also glad that today, we are joined by superiors and colleagues who can tell us more about the benefits our offices have had from diversity within teams.
We know from the experiences of the world’s most successful companies what results diversity can bring to work teams. When you work with colleagues of different cultures and languages, opportunities open up to learn from each other diverse approaches to work, and we all benefit from this.
Therefore, I am optimistic about the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo when I know that there are people like you who, with the 6-month internship, are preparing for long-term employment in our institutions.
Expanding employment in this form is also our legal obligation. The quota for 10% of jobs in central institutions is for workers from non-majority communities. This is very important for the health of the institutions, as well as for the employment of non-majority communities. The benefit is definitely mutual.
Equally important is the fulfillment of the employment quota in municipal level institutions, in accordance with the percentage of communities in the municipality.
I am proud that last month, our government decided to create an inter-institutional team to promote the employment of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. Among other things, the team will deal with the collection and publication of employment data at the municipal and central level. This mechanism, for these three non-majority communities, can serve both as an example and as an impetus for the collection and publication of data for all communities.
Among the important decisions that our government has taken in recent months, to help the employment of non-majority communities in institutions, is the creation of the Unit for Translation and Harmonization of laws and By-laws, which enables the employment of additional translators within the Office of the Prime Minister. So, we want to understand each other clearly, understand each other correctly and communicate as much as possible.
Dear fellow citizens,
I assure you that you will have my support for the successful start of your professional careers within our institutions. Because these institutions do not belong to the government but to you and you are at home in these institutions. You do not belong only to a special community but to the profession which you will exercise diligently and without obstacles in your workplace.
We hope that the experience of six-month that you will have in the institutions will inspire you for the future, and I know that your presence in the Ministries and Municipalities of Kosovo has already inspired your colleagues for more work. It will be a pleasure to hear more about your experiences during our time together here.
Thank you.
Last modified: July 22, 2022