Pristina, August 12, 2022
On the International Youth Day, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo participated in the publication ceremony the National Youth Dialogue report by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
Direct communication with young people is especially important, because in addition to shaping the decisions we make, it also shapes the future that young people inherit, said Prime Minister Kurti in his speech.
With this aim, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports during 2021 carried out a broad dialogue between youth and the youth sector stakeholders to better identify the achievements, challenges and needs of the youth, in the process that has been named the National Youth Dialogue.
Through the National Youth Dialogue, it is intended to better inform all governmental and municipal institutions, international partners and civil society about the needs and challenges of youth, in order to improve the process of policy making, but also programs and projects for supporting youth, as well as their personal and professional development.
Prime Minister Kurti emphasized that as policy implementers we are focused on developing better plans and programs to offer young people maximum opportunities for them to achieve their highest potential, both at present and for their and country’s future.
Among the Government’s initiatives for supporting youth, the Prime Minister singled out the youth guarantee scheme, as well as the support of projects of youth organizations in the field of education, culture-art, sports and entrepreneurship in the amount of over 490,000 euros. He also emphasized the call for youth projects, recently published by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports for the total amount of 600 thousand euros.
He mentioned the allocation of 3.5 million euros for the provision of internship for students of vocational education and training schools, 106 scholarships to encourage girls to pursue technical profiles and for boys to pursue deficit profiles, as well as about 1,000 vouchers for vocational school graduates to attend information technology courses.
The Prime Minister spoke about the ongoing projects for the construction of new youth centers in Ferizaj, Deçan, Gjakova, and Podujeva, where young people can study and organize activities. Also, the signing of agreements with 7 municipalities for the establishment of vocational school-based career centers.
We are currently in the final stage of preparing the draft of the concept document for youth, which aims at more active participation of young people in decision-making mechanisms, said the Prime Minister.
He emphasized that the purpose of today’s report is to provide recommendations for priority areas for the development and empowerment of young people, as well as for better coordination of stakeholders, in the composition of the creation of synergies necessary for the advancement of youth.
With the participation of representatives of central and local level institutions, representatives of international institutions and representatives of youth organizations, in addition to the publication of the report, this ceremony also marked the opening of the Youth Month, which will last until August 31, with many activities organized by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports throughout Kosovo.
Prime Minister Kurti’s full speech:
Honorable Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Hajrulla Çeku
Honorable Deputy Ministers, Linda Çavdarbasha, Getoar Mjeku, Liza Gashi, Daulina Osmani, Agon Dobruna,
Honorable members of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, Agon Batusha, Ardian Gola, also Head of the Parliamentary Committee for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports,
Honorable advisors, representatives of central and local institutions,
Ladies and gentleman,
Dear young people,
It is a pleasure that we have come here together with representatives of civil society and also with municipal directors from all over Kosovo, in order to address issues on the International Youth Day, concerning the youth but above all concerning the entire state and population.
On this day we celebrate the achievements of our youth, but at the same time we express gratitude for the commitment and contribution of the youth to society. Our youth is special because it is massive. The average age in Kosovo is over 30 years old and 2/3 of them are under 35 years old.
Therefore, at the end of last year, as the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, we took the initiative to start the National Youth Dialogue, because this is an initiative that includes the majority of the population, that is, to talk about youth and talk about democracy are two different things, and this initiative was carried out by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
As with other initiatives, also with this dialogue with young people, we want to emphasize that the engagement of young people, whether at the level of the neighborhood of city or village in any municipality, but also at the national level, directly contributes to better policies for the young people.
Our direct communication with young people is especially important, because in addition to shaping the decisions we make, it also shapes the future that young people inherit.
Through the National Dialogue on Youth, it is intended to better inform all governmental and municipal institutions, international partners and civil society about the needs and challenges of youth, in order to improve the process of drafting policies, but also programs and projects for supporting youth, as well as their personal and professional development.
The opportunities for our young people in Kosovo are increasingly growing every day, so that they can be an active part of developments and changes as quickly as possible. Even through regional initiatives and programs, such as the Regional Office for Youth Cooperation, then the Youth Laboratory for the Western Balkans in RCC, as well as from this year the organizations and young people of Kosovo will also have the opportunity for partnerships and funds that are provided from the Erasmus + program funded by the European Union.
Dear ladies and gentlemen,
Education is the core pillar on which all other areas of the state and society are developed. Our government is working with a multidimensional approach to strengthen education in the country, since quality education is essential in itself, but also a key factor in the development of society. Therefore, we also increased the budget for education by 12%.
From the 2021/2022 academic year, we have made public higher education free of charge for all those who wish to study at the Bachelor and Master levels. Whoever wants to study must have the right to do so, for his/her full inclination, demand or life need.
While for distinguished students for studies inside and outside the country, we have allocated over 3,000 scholarships.
To help the advancement of girls in science, in the academic year 2021/2022, we have allocated 1365 university scholarships in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or as it is otherwise known, STEM. We are continuing to work to advance girls and women in science, technology and innovation, to close the existing gender gap in the professions.
In general, girls are better students than boys, but when they finish their studies in our country they get a diploma and find a job, but then there is an opposite difference in salary, so there is nothing gender related to the study of natural sciences between the sexes. Just like boys, girls too, research show maybe even better and more, can finish those studies and then develop them in professions.
The initiation of dual education is a priority for our government, as they hold the key to technological process and progress in the development of any country, not only ours, and especially in increasing jobs and reducing inequality. Therefore, from the 2022/2023 academic year, we will start providing dual education in three profiles, as a first step. It is not an act, it is a process, but for this process to progress, we need to bridge the skills gap between the labor market and vocational education.
We allocated 3.5 million euros for the provision of internship for students of vocational education and training schools, 106 scholarships to encourage girls to pursue technical profiles and for boys to follow deficit profiles, as well as about 1000 vouchers for vocational school graduates for attend information technology courses.
Currently in Kosovo we have 650 companies in the field of information technology and communication, 10 percent are foreign owned, 21 percent are with mixed ownership, 70 percent of these are exporting, 61 percent of the products are for intended for export , 20 thousand professionals, boys and girls, are currently engaged, in which case 2 thousand students are completing their studies in information technology and computer science and similar majors, but there are also 2 thousand others in various programs, including governmental ones, who are being trained and qualified.
While we are implementing the youth guarantee employment scheme for young people, within the Economic Revival Package, projects of youth organizations in the field of education, culture-art, sports and entrepreneurship have been supported in the amount of over 490,000 euros. And recently, to support youth projects, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports has made a public call for the total amount of 600 thousand euros.
The construction projects of new youth centers are continuing, as Donika also explained, in Ferizaj, Deçan, Gjakovë, and Podujevë, where young people can study and organize activities.
We have signed agreements with 7 municipalities for the establishment of vocational schools-based career centers.
We are currently in the final stage of preparing the draft of the concept document for youth, which aims at more active participation of young people in decision-making mechanisms.
So, it is not only the workplace but also the activity, because the lost chances and sometimes the weakening of the personalities of all people, but especially of the youth, do not come simply from unemployment but from insecurity. Because we know from our institutional life together with the minister and others that it is possible to be both employed and passive, just as it is also possible to be both unemployed and active. We need both. We need both the employment and activity. I believe that youth is the most useful social category to set an example of activity in society.
The purpose of today’s report is to offer recommendations for priority areas for the development and empowerment of young people, as well as for better coordination of stakeholders, in order to create the necessary synergies for the advancement of youth.
As policy implementers, we are focused on developing better plans and programs to offer young people maximum opportunities for them to achieve their highest potentials, both at present and for their and country’s future.
Today’s youth is a generation that grew up in times of great challenges, when our country went through difficult stages of state building and a democratic society in freedom and equality. But it is also the generation of freedom.
The youth now have the freedom to build a future as they want, with the unconditional support of the Government and institutions. By investing in youth, we simply invest in the future and we believe that this investment will be returned manifold to the current young generation, but also to those who are children now, sooner than we believe they will become young as well.
So I’m concluding by congratulating you and by saying Happy Youth Day!
And I also hope to meet you at the activities that we will organize during the Youth Month.
Thank you.
Last modified: August 15, 2022