18 March 2020, Pristina—The Kosovo Trustbuilding Platform, a first-of-its-kind hub of information on the initiatives, achievements, opportunities, and champions for building trust in Kosovo, has been publicly launched. 

The Executive Director of the NGO that launched the site on March 18, New Social Initiative (NSI), Jovana Radosavljević wrote in an open letter of the renewed importance of trustbuilding considering the current challenging circumstances related to COVID-19:

“[P]recisely because of the challenges posed by the current COVID-19 pandemic, trustbuilding and the Kosovo Trustbuilding Platform, have taken on new importance. Trust in one another has never been more critical to our collective well-being. This is why today we are virtually launching the Kosovo Trustbuilding Platform,” Ms Radosavljević wrote.

Physical distancing did not need to mean isolation, she said.

“The Kosovo Trustbuilding Platform can help digitally ease the burden by bringing you positive stories of people working together across communities, inspiration from champions forging trust in new and innovative ways, and the ability to connect and exercise solidarity with others at a time when our normal daily routines and social ties have been disrupted.”

The Kosovo Trustbuilding Platform was conceived in 2018 by the United Nations Kosovo Trustbuilding Forum participants to share information, promote collaboration, avoid duplication and advance the implementation of the trustbuilding recommendations. Powered by NGO New Social Initiative, in collaboration with Fundación Ciudadanía Inteligente and Mint22, and with support from UNMIK, the Platform serves as a singular source of information on trust-building initiatives in Kosovo.

Nearly two years ago, more than 120 participants from a broad cross-section of Kosovo society came together in Ljubljana and agreed on 135 recommendations to build trust in Kosovo. Since then, more than 200 individuals, institutions and organisations have undertaken nearly 300 initiatives to fortify the foundations for an enduring peace and an inclusive, sustainable and stable society.

Additionally, an initial group of 100 champions have been recognised for their remarkable efforts to advance the trustbuilding agenda. These inspiring individuals - who come from diverse communities and span multiple generations and fields of work - were featured in a “Voices of the Champions” social media campaign that achieved an impressive average weekly reach of more than 25,000 users. In addition to the Champions, several prominent figures contributed to a trustbuilding op-ed series, including North Mitrovica Municipality Principal Executive Officer, Adrijana Hodžić; Forum for Leadership and Diplomacy Director, Njomza Emini; Journalist Anđelka Ćup; Executive Director of the Network of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Women’s Organizations of Kosovo, Shpresa Agushi; BIRN Kosovo Country Director, Jeta Xharra; Kossev Editor, Tatjana Lazarević; 4 U Magazine Editor, Leonora Shabanaj Niksic; Ambassador of Switzerland to Kosovo, Jean-Hubert Lebet; and Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNMIK, Zahir Tanin.

In his op-ed, SRSG Tanin highlighted that the Platform makes the trustbuilding agenda accessible to all and called on partners to join the effort:

“The Kosovo Trustbuilding Platform brings to your fingertips the ideas and initiatives, individuals and institutions that can deliver this progress. I invite you to take up the recommendations, take inspiration from the work of your champions, take advantage of the resources featured on the platform, and take forward the trust-building agenda in your community. For the future we want, let us build together the trust we need.”

Platform features include:

• Search function to identify trust-building initiatives by actor, theme, location, and status. Initiatives a searchable based on their contributions to specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 
• Your Stories section featuring news, video and blog content, as well as champions
• Resources section featuring open calls for funding and employment, as well as relevant reports
• Interactive Infographics section featuring easy navigation of data on trustbuilding initiatives, including synthesis of themes, actors, location, status, and SDG priorities
• Calendar featuring upcoming events organised by all contributors
• Gallery featuring photos of contributors’ activities and events

NSI extends an open invitation to take advantage of the “How can I contribute” feature to share project information, open calls, calendar events, reports, news of achievements, or nominate champions. The Platform is available in English, Albanian and Serbian.