Shkendije Nagavci and Laura Pruthi, teachers from “Zekeria Rexha” primary school in Gjakova, received third place in the Teachers Prize at the European Innovative Educators Forum held March 23rd in Lisbon, Portugal. But Lisbon isn’t the end of the road for them – in November, they will be headed to Athens to represent Kosovo teachers at the Microsoft Global Forum. This will be the first time that teachers from Kosovo qualify for this type of competition which will include teachers from around the world.
Many primary schools in Kosovo now have computers, but typically, they are desktops that are kept under lock and key in a laboratory, limiting access by teachers and students. To address the problem, the USAID FORECAST Program has donated a mobile computer storage cart to 20 schools. The cart contains 32 laptops with wireless access for network connectivity, a projector and a printer. Student technicians trained by the USAID program will help with care and maintenance of the IT equipment.
The children of the Bishevac neighborhood of Mitrovica North now have a new playground right in their community. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) built the playground at the request of local residents, through its Democratic Effective Municipalities Initiative. The USAID program works to improve the lives of people in non-majority communities of Kosovo by supporting community development and infrastructure. After consultation with local residents, the local Municipal Preparatory Team (MPT) told USAID that the playground was a top priority for the community.
The USAID/Basic Education Program (BEP) (http://bep-ks.org/) is using project based learning to reform teaching and learning in schools throughout Kosovo, and one of the teaching tools is a video competition. Over 30 schools submitted student-produced films for the competition, dubbed the “Junior Oscars”. ‘Best Films’ were selected in five categories: Best Story, Best Documentary, Best Film in Albanian, Best Film in English and Best Film by grades 1-5.
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