Stories about Kosovo
Serbia bans festival that enabled collaboration between artists from Serbia and Kosovo
The festival “Mirëdita, Dobar Dan!” was founded in 2014 to promote cultural exchange and create “a tradition of collaboration” that would contribute to permanent peace and normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo.
Romani language edition of the Dikan comics published in Serbia
The latest two issues of popular Serbian magazine Politikin Zabavnik include inserts with the comics Dikan, for the first time in Serbian and Romani.
The youth is a critical voice in addressing security challenges, Western Balkans expert says
"What is important in my view when discussing disinformation is addressing the structural problems, such as media literacy, because Western Balkans have some of the lowest media literacy rates in Europe."
Youth in the Balkans should be able to recognize disinformation with malign intent, Slovenian expert says
"We need to be able to communicate with the youth as effectively and as attractively as the adversaries are doing," said Petra Balažič, project manager at the Centеr of European Perspectives from Slovenia.
Decolonial perspective on race from the post-Yugoslav region
In the post-Yugoslav region, where racialized geopolitical cartography re-emerged after the Cold War, many people tend to deny the existence of racism when asked about it.
Disinformation helps weaponize homophobia in the Balkans
After 2013, Moscow has emerged as major generator of homophobic narratives that exploit existing endemic intolerance in the Balkans region.
Pride marches challenge endemic homophobia in the Balkans
Pride marches in all Balkan capitals all came with similar demands: stopping hate speech and hate crimes fueled by widespread homophobia and transphobia.
Serbian politicians and media continue the anti-NATO narratives over 1999 Kosovo War intervention
"Despite the victimization narratives exhibited in Serbia, the government recognizes the role and importance of NATO in regional security, especially in the protection of the Serbian community in Kosovo ..."
Getting the Balkans wrong: The foreign coverage crisis
"Covering the Western Balkans requires more preparation than other parts of Europe. It’s not enough to know local politics. You need to appreciate the culture and society."
Shared narratives of the Yugoslav conflicts of the 1990s: An opportunity for reconciliation
Young people from former Yugoslavia have been left at the mercy of the dominant nationalist discourses and war-mongering rhetoric, used by the political elite as manipulation tools almost three decades after the wars.
Wagner recruitment of volunteers in the Western Balkans region prompts debate
Politicians from neighboring countries have been warning of spreading of PMC Wagner group influence via Serbia, where recruitment advertisement scandal was hushed up.
Celebrating the ex-Yugoslav music scene, hall of fame style
Inspired by the Musicians Hall of Fame, American expat Will Richard set up the EX-Yugo Rock Center (EYRC) in Sarajevo, celebrating its legacy and impact during the last decades of the 20th century.
2022 was a bittersweet year for European comics
European comics creators and fans experienced some particular wins and losses during 2022. Some of them are presented in this non extensive listicle.
Kosovo: Six attacks against journalists in December following escalating tensions
The Kosovo media sphere is endangered by the recent physical assaults and their implications for press freedom and reporting on developments in the northern part of the country
‘The Balkans are Europe's Latin America in many beautiful ways,’ says Albanian writer
Cultural mediators between the Balkans and the Hispanic worlds are scarce. Elvi Sidheri is one of them. As an Albanian author and translator, he has traveled across countries and literary fields.
What did the outside world in the 1930s know about the Soviet famine and the ‘Holodomor’ in Ukraine?
Many Ukrainians used social networks to raise awareness of the 1932-1933 Soviet famine as they see the ongoing Russian aggression against their country as a continuation of the same imperial repression.
With the US intervention, Kosovo and Serbia resolve the car license plate dispute
Kosovo and Serbia find the common language on the car license plate issue, as the US intervened in the EU-mediated negotiations, welcome news against a backdrop of warmongering disinformation
Car license plates bring fresh tensions between Kosovo and Serbia as EU mediation fails
Kosovo wants the Serb minority to abandon their Serbian-issued car license plates, at a time when Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence.
The European Union continues to stall visa liberalization for Kosovo
Kosovo is the only country in the Western Balkans whose citizens still need visa to travel to the Schengen area.
Repeated cyberattacks across the Western Balkans highlight need for an organized approach to security
Microsoft experts trace the Albanian attack, which took out public services websites to Iran, leading the Albanian government to take diplomatic action.
Flood of false bomb threats raise security concerns in Kosovo
The wave of false bomb alerts in the Balkan region has also affected Kosovo. Threatening messages from anonymous addresses were sent to the University, schools, airport and bus stations.
