OWYP Kosovo Team Featured in Prishtina Press

Anjali Daryanani is the Communications Director of One World Youth Project. She grew up in Hong Kong and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University. Read more about Anjali

Cross-posted from Prishtina Press, Kosovo’s first newspaper since independence

University of Prishtina and International Non-Profit Build Global and Local Leadership Among UP Students
September 30, 2011

Washington DC – This week the University of Prishtina (UP) and One World Youth Project (OWYP), a global education non-profit organization, are leading a comprehensive training for UP students as part of OWYP’s work connecting classrooms globally to educate youth as global citizens. UP students will be trained to facilitate a robust global competency curriculum in Prishtina and Gjakova secondary schools throughout the year, building their own leadership skills while helping students in their community learn about the world around them. Each classroom will be partnered with a classroom abroad; this year the classrooms in Prishtina and Gjakova will be paired with classrooms in Washington, D.C., USA.

To UP student Fitim Krasniqi, educating Kosovar youth to become responsible citizens is a duty — the duty of his generation. Having lived through the war, Krasniqi and his peers are leading systemic change by building values of peace and collaboration among youth in their communities.

“As university students, it is important to share our knowledge and experience with the community, and help youth to understand the community they live in,” says Krasniqi. “We are working with youth in order to build a more sustainable community.”

Over the past three years, students at Elena Gjika Elementary School and Yll Morina have been learning about their partner classrooms’ cultures, discovering their own community’s strengths and needs as well as creating plans to address those needs through the lesson plans developed by OWYP and taught by UP students. Krasniqi was awarded the Project Manager Fellowship to lead OWYP’s global education program in Prishtina and mobilize peers to make an impact on youth education in his community.

According to Krasniqi, the OWYP program and curriculum has been generating a sense of empowerment among Elena Gjika students, enabling them to practice problem-solving and recognizing their ability to make a difference. Krasniqi recounts when his students shared news they had read in BBC and CNN, and, with the help of the UP students, they brainstormed solutions to local and global problems.

“I’m motivated by my desire to see people be more empathetic and open-minded,” Krasniqi said.

The vision of One World Youth Project is a just world built through the actions of discerning, empathetic and empowered global citizens. OWYP partners with universities and university students to build mutual respect and understanding among the younger generation through a unique “Hub” structure that trains university students to facilitate the curriculum in community secondary schools – developing leadership in university students, strengthening communities and effectively educating secondary school youth about the world around them. Experiencing success in Prishtina and Washington, D.C., One World Youth Project is expanding to eight additional universities around the world this January, and plans to exist in 120 Hubs around the world by 2015. Inspired by the achievements of the UP students, OWYP is exploring the possibility for other partner universities within Kosovo.