After a rainy day of cleaning in the Lakrishte neighbourhood in Pristina, volunteers and local residents sat down together to share a meal right there in the park. As they talked about keeping their neighbourhood clean, some residents were already offering to help with clean-ups in other parts of the city.

The clean-up was one of several organised by Studio Space, a local initiative in Pristina. With the help of the European Union in Kosovo and Sweden co-funded project, Space Studio could provide cleaning equipment, rubbish bags and food for volunteers as the clean-ups reached more neighbourhoods.

In Parteš/Partesh, young people were also supported in making a difference in their community. Through Youth Decide!, another initiative supported by the same project, they came together to plant trees, adding more greenery to their municipality and making a contribution that would last beyond the activity itself.

“We started these clean-ups because, as a community, we saw the need to do something to improve the city we live in,” said Endritura Gllogjani from Studio Space adding that their Clean Neighbourhoods, United Community activity began with ten volunteers cleaning two locations in Pristina.

In Lakrishte, neighbours who saw the clean-up underway came out to lend a hand, working side by side with the volunteers. Residents in other parts of Pristina joined the clean-ups too.

Altogether, around 30 people joined the action across the city, helping clean seven neighbourhoods, with plans to continue in two more.

For Mentor Dida, one of the initial volunteers, looking after a neighbourhood is much like looking after a family. Both require care, attention and a willingness to contribute.

“Institutions have their responsibilities, but we as citizens have ours too. We should try to help, even a little,” he said.

In Parteš/Partesh, the Youth Decide! initiative, led by Stefan Stojanović, encouraged around 30 young people to take a more active role in their community.
One of its activities, Adopt a Tree, gave participants a practical way to contribute to their municipality. By the time they gathered for it, friendships had already formed among them.

Together, they planted 30 trees, each bearing the name of a participant who committed to caring for it. Some stopped to take photographs beside the trees with their names on them.

Kristina Slanković, who planted one of the trees, enjoyed the laughter and time spent with the group. For her, the activity was also about contributing to her municipality.
“This is our municipality, and through initiatives like this we will make it more beautiful and leave behind a very special memory,” she said.

Stojanović said it had been a pleasure working with the young participants and hoped they would continue taking an active role in their community.

Dren Puka is the Executive Director of the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF), which, together with Community Building Mitrovica (CBM), implements the EU-Sweden project supporting these two activities.
For him, the value of volunteering also lies in bringing people with different views together around something that goes beyond their individual interests. That experience, he explained, “builds trust that collective action can address issues which might otherwise never even have a chance to be addressed.”

The EU’s support for volunteering in Kosovo extends well beyond this joint project with Sweden. Alongside its wider support for civil society, the EU has been a long-standing strategic partner of TOKA, a youth development organisation, supporting educational volunteering clubs and initiatives such as the Volunteerism of the Year Awards, which recognise people who contribute to their communities.

Through these different forms of support, the EU, as Kosovo’s strongest partner, continues to encourage volunteering, helping more people get involved and strengthening the role of communities in addressing their shared needs.

The EU is by your side.