“Being a woman with disability means facing double discrimination,” Chairperson of an NGO Organization of Persons with Disabilities, Dragan Josifovic said today in a debate in Gracanica dedicated to promoting artistic development of women with disabilities, KIM Radio reported.
NGO Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) gathered yesterday representatives of the Local Youth Action Councils, NGOs dealing with youth issues, representatives of institutions and young people, in order to make first steps for creating a Local Action Plan for Youth in the four northern municipalities, Radio kontakt plus reported.
This activity is a continuation of the project “Establishing Local Youth Councils in Northern Municipalities,” which is supported by USAID-AKTLS and aims at mapping issues young people face.
Kosovo Minister of Local-Governance and Administration, Ivan Todosijevic and USAID Assistant Director for Europe and Asia, Brock Bierman signed yesterday an agreement on LEGO project, worth 12 million euros encompassing 14 municipalities in Kosovo, out of it 10 with the Serb-majority, RTV Puls reported.
The project aims to strengthen capacities of the municipalities, participation of communities in decision-making and managing the institutions. The project will last five years.
The President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi, and the Ambassador of the United States of America in Kosovo Greg Delawie, signed today amendment of the bilateral agreement on the Development Objective Agreement Grant (DOAG) .
The agreement includes determination of the U.S. government to help Kosovo institutions attain reforms which would push Kosovo’s development forward.
Director of USAID in Kosovo James Hope said that the USAID since 1999 to date invested about $ 850 million in Kosovo. Hope said that USAID programs support for the whole Kosovo, adding that special attention was devoted to the programs that are designed to support a minority, vulnerable groups and the women. "The programs have a national perspective. My rough estimate is that out of 850 million, about 15 per cent of the money was directed towards the minority communities in Kosovo," said Hope in the talk show Slobodno Srpski.
During a conference on “Increased Participation of Marginalized Groups in Kosovo” today, the Ambassador of the United States in Kosovo, Greg Delawie, said that everyone has a responsibility to ensure that all groups are able to exercise their full rights. “When people are pushed to the margins of society, they have a much more difficult time exercising their economic, political, cultural, and social rights. This exclusion constrains economic development and undermines the democratic process.
On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, the USAID Property Rights Programme launched a media campaign on public awareness for women’s property rights.The United States Ambassador, Greg Delawie, said that less than 19% of women in Kosovo own property, while an even smaller percentage has access to heritage. He added that exclusion of women from the right to heritage is an economic loss for Kosovo.
The paper’s front-page editorial comments on the latest Public Pulse conducted by the UNDP and USAID in Kosovo, saying that it is “a realistic assessment of the scandalous state of governance in Kosovo”. “A summary of the key indicators and findings of the survey, which covers the period March – September 2015, shows that the satisfaction of the people with the work of institutions has reached the lowest point since March 2007.
The UNDP Kosovo and USAID launched today the Public Pulse 10, a survey conducted during the period March – September 2015 in Kosovo. According to this document, only 18% of Kosovo people are satisfied with the work of the Kosovo institutions. Until March of this year, 24% of respondents expressed their satisfaction with the Prime Minister Isa Mustafa’s work, while in September these ratings dropped to only 15 %. The main problem according to the respondents are related to socio-economic conditions.
A business development training workshop organized by USAID gathered some 15 women, Kosovo Albanians, Kosovo Serbs and Kosovo Turks from Zubin Potok, Zvečan/Zveçan and North Mitrovica, to exchange mutual experience in this sector and learn from each other. The training is one of many to be organized for women in business that aims to increase employability opportunities for women of the area. Delicious sweets and baked goods are not just tasty but also a business opportunity for women in the north of Kosovo.