Activities

The opening ceremony of the “Kosovo Innovating Social Transformation” project was held on June 17, 2022, at ITP, Autostrada Hangar, Prizren. Thirty participants from the partner schools and ten representatives from Kec/DokuFest staff attended the ceremony. The project and its main activities were presented, followed by the signing of the agreements of understanding with the schools. Rudinë Jakupi, Senior Official for Security and Stability Policies, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kosovo, Eroll Bilibani, Leader of Dokulab, Dokufest, and Petrit Tahiri, Executive Director of KEC, delivered welcome speeches. The ceremony concluded with a cocktail reception.

A workshop on guidelines for forming Media Literacy Clubs was organized at KEC, Prishtina, with 19 participants (11F; 9M) from the 10 partner schools. The workshop showcased examples of school clubs, and each school created and presented a draft of an annual work plan for their Media Literacy Club.

In July, the main activity was the organization of a summer school. Due to the specific age of the students and the nature of the summer school program, which required more space and security, the implementing partner Dokufest decided to directly collaborate with the Innovation and Training Park (ITP) in Prizren. ITP provided separate buildings for female and male participants, indoor training spaces (two spacious rooms), outdoor areas for sports and leisure activities, and security through guards and cameras throughout the compound. Food arrangements were made via a public call for bids.

The summer school engaged experienced trainers in the field of media literacy and video creation skills. Additionally, numerous volunteers from the leading implementer, KEC, participated in activities related to anti-radicalization topics, working with teachers using the latest content from online courses on creating a learning community. Volunteers facilitated discussions of films with Dokufest authors, conducted soft skills games and energizers, organized Yoga sessions, and more. The program was intense, focusing on topics such as radicalization prevention, disinformation, misinformation, and other negative phenomena, utilizing digital resources like video creation with stop motion techniques to raise awareness among children aged 12-14. Four facilitators were hired for the summer school to cover media literacy, social media, video animation, and stop motion techniques. In addition, five volunteers from KEC facilitated activities related to anti-radicalization, practical activities on bullying, assisting teachers in using digital tools and online training to create a strong learning community, and organizing games, energizers, and yoga sessions. Dokufest provided a film author for film discussions, extra staff to ensure smooth event operations, and additional equipment such as sound equipment, big screens, projectors, video recording gadgets, and lighting equipment.

A total of 53 students (31F; 22M) and 16 teachers (9F; 7M) from nine partner schools participated in the summer school. During the program, nine animation films were created by the students using the stop-motion method, focusing on topics related to disinformation, misinformation, bullying, and the importance of teamwork.

A training session for teachers on developing film guides for radicalization prevention and digital media literacy was conducted in two groups, with 10 facilitator guides. The workshop, facilitated by Merita Shala and Jeta Rexha, was attended by 25 teachers from the beneficiary districts. In November, over 10 films on the topic of cyberbullying were screened in the beneficiary schools.

During February, we commenced the Human Interest Stories training. This training consisted of two modules and was facilitated by Zgjim Terziqi, who delivered a lecture on filmmaking. Approximately 200 students benefited from this lecture.

Continuing with the Human Interest Stories theme, the winter school took place at Hotel Trofta in Istog on March 4-5. During this event, students had the opportunity to present their film ideas to a jury. Additionally, lectures on violence and harassment were conducted, facilitated by Arbnore Ismaili, a school psychologist, and research techniques for data collection were taught by Gentiana Paqarizi, a journalist from Kosova 2.0.

In the latter part of the day, the facilitators and participants worked together to select the narratives proposed by each school and prepare the pitch/presentation. They discussed the components of an effective pitch, how to structure it, and the appropriate approach for presenting.

On the second day, the ideas were presented through pitching sessions, where each school presented their idea and story. The jury, consisting of Eroll Bilibani, Trëndelina Halili, and Zana Arapi, provided feedback. The facilitator for these sessions was Zgjim Terziqi.

As a successful outcome of the Human Interest Stories training and the winter school, 10 short films were created by the 10 participating schools, competing for the best film.

A total of 32 students and teachers took part in the Winter School Activity.

During May, films with diverse themes were carefully selected and purchased specifically for classroom use. It’s worth noting that all the films have been translated and subtitled to ensure easy comprehension and accessibility for students.

Movie titles:

“Jobs For All”, Maximilien van Aertryck and Axel Danielson, Sweden 2021; “Train Robbers”, Martin A. Walther, Norway 2019; “My Super Sea Wall”, Gina Abatemarco, Germany 2009; “Delivery”, Till Nowak, Germany 2005; “Framework”, Jasmin Gordon, Switzerland 2018.