The creation of a dictionary is the creation of a kind of linguistic monument, and in that sense the creation of online and off-line Serbian-Albanian and Albanian-Serbian dictionaries is of paramount importance, assessed the participants of the forum devoted to this topic held on Wednesday, June 5, organized by Private Cultural Center Akvarijus and International Organization for Migration (IOM).

"Initially, in cooperation with the British Embassy, IOM started developing a platform for learning Serbian and Albanian, called VOK UP. We came to the idea of creating vocabulary by doing a lot of projects on the topic of social inclusion of minority communities, and the reintegration of internally displaced persons in Kosovo. The language was identified as the main obstacle to the interaction of different communities. We tried in cooperation with relevant institutions and language experts to make the first online platform because we thought people could be afraid of going physically to courses," explains Svetlana Rakic from the IOM.

She explains that the pilot project was implemented initially in seven municipalities in Kosovo, thereafter with the support of UNMIK, began the creation of a Serbian-Albanian and Albanian-Serbian dictionary, which will be presented to the public in July if everything goes as planned.

"We gathered experts from Belgrade and Pristina, from the Institute for Albanology, the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade, the Faculty of Philology in Pristina, and the Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade and Pristina. In total, nine experts are working with us - lexicographers and language experts who will make the first digital dictionary containing 20,000 words by the end of June," explains Rakic, adding that by September this digital edition could receive its own specific printed form.