Kosovo Foundation for Open Society

The Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS) remained committed to supporting processes to bring Kosovo closer to the Euro-Atlantic community. Throughout 2006, the foundation worked to address social, economic, and political challenges and help prepare Kosovo to join the European Community as an economically strong democracy that respects human rights. The foundation used programs focusing on European integration, Roma rights, and civil society development to help Kosovo make progress toward meeting European standards for democratization and economic development, improving minority rights protections, and strengthening the research, analysis, and advocacy capacities of civil society groups.

The following briefs describe some of the foundation’s activities and achievements in 2006.

Minority Communities Participate in Policy Development

Kosovo’s Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities for the first time worked with policymakers at all levels to devise a comprehensive integration strategy. Initiated by Kosovo’s prime minister with support from OSI and the OSCE, the project is developing policies on health care, education, employment, property rights, and refugee and displacement issues, acknowledging both the common and separate needs of each community. The strategic plan, expected to be completed in 2007, will put Kosovo closer to achieving Decade of Roma Inclusion requirements.

Multicultural Kosovo Defines Its Priorities

The foundation helped give Kosovo’s multiple ethnic communities a role in shaping policies during final status negotiations. Majority Serb communities advocated for more opportunities for local development of their economic and health and education systems. Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities, the country’s most vulnerable groups, formed a coalition to represent their concerns about access to education, employment, and public resources while the Bosniak community worked to guarantee their minority rights and preserve the use of their language and customs.

Foundation Organizes Dialogue on Decentralization

The foundation initiated the first public discussion of government decentralization in Kosovo, one of the final and most critical issues in negotiations about the country’s status. Forum 2015 and OSI’s Local Government Initiative brought together international, government, and civil society actors to discuss decentralization at a conference that was broadcast live on national TV and received significant press and online coverage.