December 12, 2018 | Wednesday
The closing event of the #GiveGreenAChance Environment Campaign in Kosovo was the “Green Coffee for Environment”.
Thus, to give an ending to the very successful and fruitful Environment Campaign that started back in September of this year, organized by the European Union Office in Kosovo, on the 6th of December a discussion between Riccardo Serri, Head of Political, Economic and European Integration Section, EU Office/EUSR, other EU Office representatives, civil society organization representatives, experts and student took place at the EUICC in Pristina.
The discussion highlighted the next steps and recommendations on how to continue and be mobilized as active citizens of this country and continue to contribute on environment protection.
Riccardo Serri pointed out that the end of the Campaign just reminds us all about the importance of the environment.
“This is the final moment of the Campaign, an attempt towards the cause of environment. We started with education some months ago, and now with a Campaign on Environment. This is definitely a continuation of our common engagement in environment” said Serri during the discussion.
Miran Vatovec from the EU Office in Kosovo stated that there are systematic negotiations with NGO’s in Kosovo to improve the state of the environment. Nevertheless, the power to make a change is exactly on the hands of these organizations working in Kosovo, according to Vatovec.
Through this discussion, EU Office in Kosovo cordially accepted substantial recommendations regarding the continued support of projects in the field of environment.
Gazmend Selimi from the EU Office in Kosovo stated that the European Union remains the biggest donor in Kosovo when it comes to environment, funding projects but also helping the institutional infrastructure. Drinking water, sewage network and energy system are just some of the areas where EU has contributed profoundly.
Lum Zhaveli, a successful swimmer and one of the four champions of the Environment Campaign, during the discussion pointed out that he takes volunteering very close to his heart and being part of the Campaign allowed him to help in this cause.
“I think we are good-hearted people but we lack the culture of voluntarism, which I think should be more present in our lives. The cause of this Campaign is very important to me, as I believe environment plays a key role in everybody’s life” said Zhaveli.
Learta Hollaj from INDEP – The Institute for Development Policy, mentioned the fact that five years ago a lot of people were sceptic regarding efficient energy, while today we have laws on the matter and the Fund for Efficient Energy is on its way to be created. In the beginning of this year, INDEP published the research “Waste management in Kosovo – Identifying challenges in the sector”.
During this discussion, Rinora Gojani on behalf of the Balkan Green Foundation, Skender Baca – pulmonologist and Fatos Lajqi from ERA – Environmental Responsible Action gave their insight on the short and long-term solutions towards environment protection in Kosovo.
The Environment Campaign was implemented by the European Union Information and Cultural Centre, with activities, panel discussions, competitions and other opportunities for beneficiaries. The Campaign had four pillars: Clean Water, Clean Air, Waste Management and Energy Efficiency.