Political Culture and Dialogue

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Perspectives - Kosovo 1999-2019: A Hostage Crisis

Twenty years on from the Kosovo War, the collective memory of both parties in the conflict remains burdened by myths and incontestable truths about what actually took place. The process of reconciliation and building longstanding peace is being undermined, primarily, by political elites in both countries, whose populist policies amplify the prejudices between Kosovar Albanians and Serbs. In this issue of Perspectives we aim to highlight the fact that Kosovo is not just a toponym, but a country burdened by its recent violent history, where common people are struggling to rebuild the broken societies that the conflict has left behind.

University Walls

In the landscape of Montenegrin higher education institutions, which are not leading the way in any segment of contemporary education, the lack of transparency is an additional cause for concern, especially taking into account an increasing trend of “raising walls” around universities. 
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Perspectives: Narratives in the Balkans

In the region, patriarchal, homophobic and exclusive tendencies are dominating, shaping a climate of intolerance, of exclusion, of the radical negation of all things humane and rational. The consequences are rigid defence mechanisms against progressive and secular approaches. Instead of modernity, instead of establishing welfare for all, the citizens are kept in a perpetual combat zone, from which hundreds of thousands are fleeing – without war – in order to find their happiness in work and life elsewhere, beyond the continuing radicalisation.

Incentives4Reform: Increasing opportunities for VET students and graduates in the labour market

The education system in Kosovo has been subject to continuous change during the transition that emerged in the aftermath of the war in 1999. In recent years it has become increasingly evident that although it’s young population, the youngest in Europe, is indeed a great asset to the country, it simultaneously places an extremely heavy burden on both the education system and the labour market in Kosovo.

Reforming the University of Prishtina - Mission Possible?

Universities often teach yesterday’s skills by inertia and their teachers are still compensated generously from the taxpayers’ purse. We live in dynamic times where great syllabi may not be relevant by the time the first graduates that come out of the assembly line. As difficult as it seems, universities should strive to imbue graduates with the skills which will serve them for 40 years of their careers.