Celebrations of International Youth Day in Kosovo started with addresses in the Assembly by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the vice president of the assembly Saranda Bogujevci and several MPs.

In a speech to the young who were invited to attend the Assembly, Kurti said the young are the most energetic part of Kosovo’s society.

“The young are the largest energetic mass of a country, and our country has it.  The youth is the part of the population that will suffer from our mistakes or celebrate our successes. Youth will control our destiny. We possess the talent and energy of advanced societies, as talent does not recognize ethnicity and society,” Kurti stated.

Kurti also said the priority of the government should be connecting education with the economy and the labour market, but also with investments, so that young people do not have to leave.

After the speech, Kurti watched the opening of the fair of youth initiatives in Kosovo.

Young people from different initiatives informed the Prime Minister about the activities they carry out and requested support from the government.

Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Kosovo, YIHR, under the motto “Kur bohet mirë” “When will it be good” placed suitcases in the Mother Teresa Square in the capital, symbolizing the departure of so many young people due to dissatisfaction with economic development.

The director of YIHR, Marigona Shabiu, said that they had chosen International Youth Day for the performance installation to voice the concerns of the young.

“The slogan, ‘When will it be good’ is a call of hope and a call of protest because this should be the last call for institutions to deal more seriously with the problems of young people,” she said.

Activities for the day will conclude with a youth festival organized by the Center for Counseling and Social Services.

Data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency, KAS, for the first quarter of 2021 show that the unemployment rate among the 15-24 age group is 48.6 per cent. Other KAS data show that during 2021, 42,728 people emigrated from Kosovo.