OSCE Mission in Kosovo supports enhanced communication in official languages

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo concluded a series of eight workshops that introduced bilingual tools (developed with the OSCE Mission’s help) that will help strengthen communication between Kosovo Police (KP) officers and the communities they serve. Held in close co-operation with the KP and the Office of Language Commissioner (OLC), the workshops hosted a total of 160 supervisors, traffic officers and first responders from all eight KP regional directorates.

The tools include a bilingual handbook for traffic police, a bilingual language proficiency scheme for new cadets, and a multilingual mobile platform. Containing common police phrases in Albanian and Serbian, the official languages used in Kosovo, and voice recordings of expressions in Albanian, Serbian and English, they are meant to help police officers use basic phrases in official languages, to enhance communication with the communities they serve and respect and promote human rights.

A scenario-based video for new police cadets with messages from the Language Commissioner and General Director of Kosovo Police was also presented. The video introduced innovative approaches for improving public-institutional communication and raising awareness about the importance of bilingualism as a bridge to strengthen the trust between police and communities.

“Bilingualism opens doorways toward enhanced community trust, improves victim centered approaches and builds a strong link with community policing. Accurate and effective communication through bilingualism is critical to deescalate misunderstandings or reduce unnecessarily violent escalations,” said Edward Anderson, Director of the OSCE Mission Department of Security and Public Safety.

The workshops mark the conclusion of the OSCE Mission project funded by the Government of Switzerland, which confirms the Mission’s commitment to advance bilingualism in the KP and security sector, and promote equal use of official languages in line with the Law on the Use of Languages in Kosovo.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is mandated with the protection and promotion of human and community rights, and with democratization and public safety sector development. It regularly supports Kosovo Police and other law enforcement agencies to further improve their capacities.