Prishtina, 13 June 2025
Dear Ms. Hatixhe Zeka, Executive Director of TOKA,
Dear Ms. Jehona Gjurgjeala, Founder and Chair of the TOKA Board,
Dear activists,
Honourable guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
One decade, 120 months since its birth, a two-digit anniversary. Ten years of dedication, initiative and concrete impact on the lives of thousands of young people across Kosovo.
TOKA has proven that it is possible to implement, as we have seen, over 500 volunteer projects, benefiting 400,000 citizens directly or indirectly, and involving 50,000 young people from all over Kosovo. On the birthday of the TOKA organization, these are accomplishments that deserve not only congratulations but also deep appreciation for their commitment, dedication and contribution.
For ten consecutive years, TOKA has been more than just an organization. It has created spaces to improve the community and the journey of many young people from villages and cities. Through such engagements, they have contributed to shaping new generations who themselves are drivers of change. This is the essence of what we want for Kosovo: a society where young people are co-travellers and decision-makers, not just participants in our path toward democratic development and economic progress.
Kosovo is indeed the youngest state in Europe and has the lowest average age on the continent. A youthful population is a clear indicator that the youth are the country’s main driving force, triggering development and progress forward. Our government policies must therefore have a strategic orientation toward youth, providing them with the best possible opportunities to express and expand their talents. To bring to life the right conditions for them to become active, engaged and responsible citizens in building a more just, more equal and more sustainable society.
The achievements of our youth in art, sports, business and technology go beyond the ordinary, and the role of the state is to follow this potential with direct support. For this generation of young people, the challenges, both in Kosovo and around the world, remain significant. But difficulties are not a cause for despair; on the contrary, they are a reason for willpower, more willpower, for courage, more courage, and for engagement, greater engagement.
As a government, we are working to reform the education system, so that our schools and universities become spaces where young women and men, and also children, together with teachers and parents, work, learn and conduct research. We have made public higher education free, with over 173 thousand students exempted from tuition fees since 2021. More than 14 million Euro have been allocated by the state to support students through scholarships.
Investment in education must be reflected in life after university and post-graduate life, in youth employment and skills development. To make this possible and achieve it, we have started connecting education with the labour market, so that every school diploma corresponds to a job opportunity. We are implementing dual education, in 12 profiles, across 23 schools in 15 municipalities, for over 1,600 students.
The number of employed young people over the past four years has not only increased but more than doubled. At the beginning of 2021, there were fewer than 29,000 employed young people, whereas in 2023, within just two and a half years, that number reached nearly 61,000, with half of the new jobs filled by women. Through the SuperPuna platform, in less than two years, over 14,000 young people aged 18-29 have been employed, more than half of them women, across 9,500 different local businesses. The Kosovo Generation Unlimited program also, in cooperation with international partners, provided practical opportunities for over 3,000 young people from all communities.
Innovation and technology are undoubtedly the most attractive sectors for youth, but also the highest export sector of services in Kosovo. To create more space for creativity and innovation for young people and startups, we have the Innovation and Training Park (ITP) in Prizren, which has been supported with eight million Euro, as well as the Digital Technology Park in Bernica on the outskirts of Prishtina.
As we continue to increase our support for young women and men, we do not forget those who were born and raised in the diaspora, as well as our compatriots in the Preseva Valley. The Civic Diplomacy Program has already engaged three generations and dozens of young women and men who are now contributing professionally in Kosovo.
For the youth of Presheva, Medvegja and Bujanoc, we have meanwhile provided school textbooks in the Albanian language, funded study scholarships, and simplified administrative procedures for those students studying in Kosovo, because those who face the toughest conditions or the biggest obstacles are the ones we must help the most and first.
The coordination of our efforts as a government and institutions with the work of serious organizations like TOKA is bringing committed and energetic engagement for the good of society. I believe that the core of the power to act lies in the will. Together, we make Kosovo a land of opportunity for the youth and a state for all, leaving no one behind.
The Government of Kosovo remains committed to supporting organizations like TOKA and to creating greater space for youth participation at every level of public life. We will continue to develop and implement policies that strengthen quality education, further increase youth employment and enhance their involvement in decision-making processes.
Dear young women and men,
You are more than just the present, because you are both the present and the future, with ideas, values and the courage to act and contribute, with all your knowledge and potential. You are the guarantee that Kosovo can and will become even better, much better.
Thank you, TOKA for these 10 years of dedication! Happy anniversary and best of success in the many decades to come!
