OSCE concludes conference on dialogue and reconciliation with women from Prishtinë/ Priština and Belgrade

A two-day conference - Women Promoting Dialogue and Reconciliation - organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the OSCE Mission to Serbia concluded on 9 December 2016 in Prishtinë/Priština. The conference gathered prominent women from politics, civil society, academy and media who comprise the “Follow Us” initiative from Prishtinë/Priština and Belgrade, as well as alumni of the OSCE Dialogue Academy.

 Panellists presented their vision of the dialogue, which aims at building trust and encouraging reconciliation by offering a forum for debate and action on issues of shared concern related to the role of women in both societies, and their challenges in accessing decision-making processes.

 “When we first met in 2012 we were suspicious towards each other and did not know what to expect,” said Blerta Deliu-Kodra, member of the Assembly of Kosovo. “But we were all aware of the importance of this dialogue and the need to keep it focused on issues that really matter to us in our daily life.”

 Gordana Ćomić, member of Serbian Parliament, said that a strength of the initiative is bringing to the same table influential women from politics but also from civil society, media and academia. “In this way the dialogue gained political leverage and at the same time remained resistant to the heated political debate.”

 Addressing the conference participants, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Paivi Nikander, said that “Follow us” initiative members have shown that women can work towards achieving sustainable peace and development. “Talking about issues of common concern and looking for concrete actions to address them, they are building mutual trust and understanding between their societies, and offering role models to be followed by many others, especially younger generations.”

 Achievements and future plans for co-operation under the “Follow Us” initiative were highlighted at the conference. The establishment of Dialogue Academy for young women, joint participation in several public debates including Doku Fest and the Belgrade Security Forum, were noted as some of the concrete outcomes to date. Alumni of the Dialogue Academy presented their plans of joint activities to be implemented in 2017, which include outreach activities to sensitize and engage women and men, especially from rural areas, about the importance of dialogue and gender equality. “Follow Us” initiative participants and the OSCE Dialogue Academy alumni defined their respective Action Plans for 2017.

 The conference also hosted a concert by two bands of the Mitrovica Rock School that has been engaging hundreds of young Kosovo Albanian and Kosovo Serbs from northern Kosovo.