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KOSOVO Introduction Kosovo’s Fact File Diversity and Ambition: The Twin Pillars of Kosovo’s Appeal Kosovo has hit the international headlines in recent months as the country has shed the skin of its troubled past and declared a new beginning with independence. However, despite wide press coverage, most international readers know very little about this diverse and ambitious country nestled in the south western corner of the Balkans. With a rich cultural legacy, enchanting natural beauty, and abundant natural and human resources, it is unlikely that Kosovo will remain a secret to Europe and the wider world for too much longer. Population Perhaps what is best about Prishtina, and indeed the country as a whole, is the young, fun-loving and ambitious people. Kosovo has a population of approximately 2.2 million with 42% of them living in the country’s cities and towns. However, what makes Kosovo so appealing is that the country has the youngest population in Europe with 70% of the population under the age of 35. This gives an impressive sense of urgency, ambition and positivity to Kosovar encounters. Ninety per cent of the population is Albanian, 5% is Serb, 2% is Muslim Slav (Bosniaks and Goranis) while the remainder is Roma and Turks. Languages This diversity of origin brings a multi-lingual environment to Kosovo with a number of languages overheard on the nation’s streets. The most prominent languages are Albanian and Serbian; however, Turkish and a number of other Balkan languages can be heard. Moreover, with such an exposure to donor organisations, multinationals and NGOs, English has almost become a semi-official language. It certainly has become the preferred language of business in the country and in the urban areas, at the very least, it is easily understood. Geography The land of Kosovo, which reclines upon almost 11,000 sq km, lies in a horse shoe shaped bowl, with mountains enclosing the country in the north, west and south. The most impressive of these are the somnolent Sharr in the South and the famous and rugged ‘Accursed Mountains’ in the west forming a border with both Albania and Montenegro. Central Kosovo lies on a low flood plain stretching out unbounded and allowing unhindered views of mountain ranges in three directions. Fifty three per cent of the country is fertile agricultural land while 39% is forest which plays a vital role in Kosovo’s burgeoning wood processing industry. The most prominent cities in terms of size, strategic importance, economic clout and historical resonance form a skewed diamond with Mitrovica in the north, Prizren in the south, Peja in the west and Prishtina, the capital, in the east. Prishtina has truly grown into its own skin emerging as a modern, vibrant capital city which manages to retain a distinct local flavour. Indeed, the old and the modern, the foreign and the local all jostle for attention in an easy unaffected way. 6
The EU and the Flag Kosovo’s commitment to a future in the EU was writ large on the country’s new flag. Although there was some debate, and even a design competition, over the future look of the newly independent country’s flag, a decisive body of opinion fell behind six yellow stars on a blue background embossed by the outline of the country stencilled below. The international design competition organised by the UN backed provisional government received just under 1,000 entries but the blue flag with yellow stars won out in vote in the National Assembly requiring a two-thirds majority. The six stars are meant to represent the six ethnicities of Kosovo, Albanian, Serbian, Bosniak, Gorani, Turk and Roma. However, the overwhelming symbolism of the new flag will not be lost on anyone, echoing as it does the EU’s very own standard, a blue flag with a circle of yellow stars. Indeed, Kosovo hopes that sooner rather than later the two flags will be flying next to each other over the parliament building in Prishtina. 7
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