Enabling agents of change

Enabling agents of change

International Interfaith Conference Prishtina 2015

Interfaith Dialogue in Time of Social Media: Enabling Agents of Change, Countering Violent Extremism & Hate Speech

This conference book is published as a reading material for guests of the International Interfaith Conference organized in Prishtina, Kosovo in May 2015.

All Rights: Interfaith Kosovo Initiative Publisher: Petrit Selimi, Jak Gjoni Editor: Rina Meta, Fiona Kelmendi Design by: Berin Hasi, Clleanc Conference Branding by: D-Line Print: ViPrint

Please follow us on ww.interfaithkosovo.org and @interfaithRKS The content published in this book may not necessarily represent the opinions of the sponsoring organizations.

Report and follow the event with #faithsinkosovo

Cont Food for thought

short excerpts of great things said

about Interfaith Kosovo

events we’ve done and seen

agents of change

tent 14 - 37

38- 47

48 - 59

60 - 71

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Doves of Dardania Neighbourhood, Prishtina Photo: Armend Krasniqi

Kosovo is really good at surprising people and surpassing their expectations, so come, relax, and enjoy this small, yet culturally rich, lovely new country.

For some of you, this might be your first visit to Kosovo, so let us give you some background to better understand the local context and what is worth knowing while here.

While you might not think of Kosovo as the typical tourist destination, this newest country in Europe is a vibrant and friendly state full of rewarding experiences for visitors. It is a fascinating land at the heart of the Balkans that rewards visitors with welcoming smiles, several attractive towns featuring Ottoman-era buildings, mosques and hammam complexes, stunning medieval Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries, medieval fresco paintings, beautiful countryside, and friendly locals.

Kosovo is a fertile plain surrounded by high mountains with a central spine of rolling hills cutting the flat lands in two. With 50 peaks over 2000m there are plenty of opportunities for hikes, winter skiing on the snowy tops, horseback riding and swimming in natural pools like those at Mirusha waterfalls.

Kosovo’s history has been constantly written and rewritten by major empires with competing territorial claims on the region. It was an Ottoman province for over five centuries, and then when the Ottoman Empire fell apart, Kosovo was caught in the middle of contending national claims. As part of Yugoslavia for the most part of the 20th century, while the rest of the federation was developing, Kosovo was lagging behind. After the conflict in Kosovo escalated in 1999, it was placed under UN administration for the following nine years.

Finally, in 2008, Kosovo declared independence and is now seven years into its new era. And while Kosovo was in ruins 15 years ago, today there are barely traces indicating it used to be a war-torn country – now it is actually one of the safest countries in Europe.

The 1998-99 conflict, communism, and Ottoman, medieval Serbian, Byzantine and Roman periods have left the place with plenty to engage with, including a number of UNESCO world heritage sites – the Graçanica and Deçani monasteries are an essential visit. The orthodox monasteries have shaped Kosovo’s cultural heritage as much as the old mosques in Prishtina – such as the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Mosque, built before the conquest of Constantinople – or the dervish lodges and traditional stone towers (kulla). The capital, Prishtina, has also played a very important role during World War II, being a shelter for Jews, whose cemeteries can now be visited.

Kosovo’s population is an exciting mix of Albanians, Serbs, Turks, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, with the majority of the population being Muslim. However, you will find that locally made alcohols such as rakija (brandy), beer and wine are very popular with everyone. The locals, go out of their way (literally) to help you. If you ask someone directions, you will inevitably be taken to your destination and should they not know the way, they will phone a friend who does. The service, from taxis to bartenders, is exceptional and honest. Kosovo people are known for their hospitality, and the greatest pride for a Kosovar family is to host a guest and offer them their welcome.

Not only is this remarkable republic only seven years old, but also the average age of the population is 28. This makes for a dynamic, fashionable and entrepreneurial culture of businesses, bars, cafés and trendy restaurants. Nightlife varies from sophisticated lounge bars and dance clubs to serene jazz joints, raucous rock bars and shabby pubs.

Classical music connoisseurs might be fortunate enough to find the Kosovo Philharmonic in town. And don’t miss the most photographed object in the country: the inspiring “NEWBORN” monument in Prishtina – unveiled on the eve of Kosovo’s declaration of independence – a sculpture symbolizing new beginnings.

Prishtina is the capital and largest city, and it is the administrative, educational, and cultural center of Kosovo. The city also reflects Kosovo’s long tradition of religious tolerance, which becomes apparent from the many mosques, Orthodox and Catholic churches and cathedrals in the city, all in close proximity to one another.

Since it is a relatively small city, within a 30 minute walk you will be able to see buildings spanning from the Ottoman era, such as the Great Hamam of Prishtina, communist architecture from Yugoslavia’s time, such as the Youth and Sports Palace, as well as many new modern structures. While the mass construction after year 1999 did not help its architectural aesthetic, it is that messy charm and the spirit of the city that make Prishtina stand out as a truly unique place to visit.

Given the very young population of Kosovo, Prishtina is an incredibly lively and vibrant location all year round, and it is becoming a popular destination for travelers looking for relatively inexpensive, yet exciting adventures.

Thanks to the heavy international presence in the past, you will find that most locals speak English and there are cafes and restaurants for just about every taste and preference, on every corner of every street.

The city is known for having macchiatos that rival even Italian ones, so make sure to not miss out on the coffee while you are here.

There is also an enormous amount of products vying for space in your suitcase on your way back: wine from the vineyards of the south, durable leather goods, beer brewed from mountain waters, homemade honey and cheeses, and exceptional homemade brandy. Find local producers and you’ll be guaranteed quality.

Kosovo is really good at surprising people and surpassing any expectations, so come, relax, and enjoy this small, yet culturally rich, lovely new country.

As seen in Dardania Neighbourhood, Prishtina Photo: Armend Krasniqi

a joint platform that involves faith leaders, civil society activists, government members, academics and media from around the world.

When we gather to find a common way towards faith and peace, we always return to our roots that are based on coexistence amongst people of different cultures. –Atifete Jahjaga, President of the Republic of Kosovo

By building an inclusive society we can help with interfaith dialogue.

Atifete Jahjaga, President of Kosovo This marks the fourth time that representatives of different faiths and people who have dedicated their lives to the power of spiritual union are gathering in Kosovo, in order to demonstrate the value of interfaith and ecumenical dialogue and to testify to the importance of interfaith tolerance.

But Kosovo has a very long tradition of tolerance and of interfaith cooperation, even in the most difficult times of its history. The understanding and tolerance built over centuries in Kosovo show how difficult it is to destroy values that people have shaped and nurtured with great effort.

That is why today, when we gather to find a common way towards faith and peace, we always return to our roots that stem from coexistence amongst people of different cultures.

By building an inclusive society, based on values of interfaith and inter-human tolerance and understanding, and by conserving the great value of understanding and trust, we can help with the continuation of promoting interfaith dialogue.

This is an added value of Kosovo’s society, which has gone through difficult times, but it has always returned to the spirit of tolerance among citizens as well as faiths.

The tradition of religious coexistence cultivated throughout the entire history of this place, also ingrained in our Constitution, as an important part of human freedoms, makes Kosovo a place of respect of diversity and peacekeeping.

In this time of global security challenges, which become even more difficult when religious coexistence is threatened, we need a common and comprehensive response to safeguard a values important for people – understanding and trust among them.

This challenge wich has not left Kosovo unaffected either, is becoming an important battle for our citizens and for our youth, to reemphasize the worth of their new country, that the future being built is inclusive and with the trust that the common country is being built upon the diversity of cultures and the tradition of coexistence among them.

We are keen to promote the agenda of tolerance and respect of religious and ethnic diversity. – Hashim Thaçi, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Republic of Kosovo

A forward-looking agenda for my country and its people.

Hashim Thaçi, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kosovo Dear Participants of Interfaith Kosovo 2015 Conference, Allow me to welcome you and to share with you few initial thoughts on issues that are at the heart of this years flagship event of Interfaith Kosovo Initiative.

When as a Prime Minister of the country in 2008, I led the process of establishing the independent and sovereign republic, I have supported a secular and progressive republic firmly entrenched in the process of Euro-Atlantic integrations. This being said, as a young democracy and youngest state to be established in European continent after a bloody war in 1999, with majority of population declared cultural muslims, we are even more keen to promote the agenda of tolerance and respect of religious and ethnic diversity. It’s a challenging task in a post-war society and it’s made even more challenging in today’s world, when extremists are keen to involve people across global geographic borders and Facebook pages into their system of absolutist beliefs.

Allow me to highlight some of the activities we have taken in the recent years to promote the interfaith dialogue as essential component of fight against violent extremism as well as some specific projects on counter-messaging that may be of value in the discussions during the conference: Kosovo has approved in the government and the parliament the law against foreign fighters to stem the participation of several dozen fighters on Daesh side in Syria and Iraq. Current number of fighters from Kosovo is around 5060 and the numbers have dropped significantly in the period after the law was approved which envisages up to 15 years of jail for those participating and instigating participation in bloody conflict in Middle East.

Kosovo police and prosecutors have arrested and brought charges against almost 100 suspected foreign fighters as well as some individual imams who have been advocating for ISIS in Syria conflict. We have also brought charges on money laundry and other offenses of individual imams who have run astray from the mainstream teachings in Kosovo’s peaceful Islamic community by preaching terrorist agenda and engaging in illicit activity to support such an agenda.

A cross-departmental working group has been set up led by the office of Prime Minister that intends to develop a holistic approach in the issue of combating violent extremism and ministries from the education and youth to law and order bodies and civil society are participating in creating a comprehensive approach that seeks to prevent any ideologies that go contrary to Kosovo’s progressive constitutional order.

Furthermore, being witness to enormous power of social media and the online-based spread of extremist ideologies, Kosovo’s diplomacy has developed cutting edge tools that involve tens of thousands of citizens in promoting peaceful, diverse and forwardlooking agenda for the country and its people. My Deputy Minister Petrit Selimi, has been at the forefront of using digital diplomacy to both engage international audiences with the new Kosovo as well as counter the extremist message from nationalists and religious fanatics. I want to remind you that Kosovo’s demographics are youngest in Europe and that over 85% of households have broadband internet at home, which makes Kosovo a particularly fertile soil for trying new platforms of interaction with young audiences. Some of our projects are: We have started an advanced interfaith dialogue platform called Interfaith Kosovo that seeks to offer Kosovo as a platform for global dialogue between religions. A flagship event is organized every year to highlight the global issues and over 400 participants from more than 50 countries have participated in events in Kosovo. This years conference organized in May 28th, will be focused on fostering interfaith dialogue between youth via social media and we have keynote speakers from senior executives of companies such as Facebook, as well as theologians, youth activists, diplomats that will gather to discuss best methods and tools to employ when countering the extremis message found online by Isis promoters.

Together with civil society organizations such as International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue, Tony Blair Faith Foundation, Soul of Europe, etc have also developed interfaithkosovo.org website as an online tool that focuses on several languages on topics promoting stories of tolerance, diversity, dialogue and history of local religions. Both projects as well as summer school that links foreign affairs with religion co-organized with Tony Blair Faith Foundation, have received mentioning in the reports by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon as well as State Departments annual Freedom of the Religion report. We hope participants of this year Interfaith Conference in Kosovo will like the format and the content of the conference.

We also work on promotion of smaller religious communities and have organized events celebrating Jewish, Bektashi and other smaller religious communities.

Sponsored by the Government of Norway, we support various activities that engage citizens into digital diplomats such as Instagram competitions of best Kosovo faces and places, focusing on promoting diversity. Over 20,000 Kosovars have participated in the national competitions on the best Kosovo images on social media. We believe that one way of countering violent extremism online is by offering incentivized platforms such as competitions or camps for young people where message is focused on positive promotion of the diversity. These types of projects also receive local media traction and become vehicles for youth engagement. Please find in your gift bag a book from the InstaKosovo competition and if you don’t have it, order one from our Foreign Ministry.

We also work on Wikipedia training camps for children as well as camps for app design that are meant to foster new generation of editors online keen to produce positive content and counter negative propaganda found online.

Through WikiAcademy, also cosponsored by FCO and Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by a local NGO IPKO Foundation we have instructed over 100 new content-producers online that have produced hundreds of articles for sites such as Wikipedia and have also participated in production of apps focused on the Kosovo’s history, national heritage, etc.

Our digital diplomacy team has developed a strategy that was praised as fourth best in the world by the Turkish magazine Yeni Diplomasi. Our team has more projects in the pipeline and as I said we are very happy to welcome over hundred participants in month of May in Prishtina to discuss with global participants on the projects such as employment of big data in analyzing & countering violent extremist message, optimizing blog outreach, etc in ensuring that we are at the forefront of employing new technologies in counter-message.

Enjoy your stay in Kosovo!

This year’s conference in Prishtina is meant to seek best tools that support civic activism, increase the digital footprint of interfaith efforts and debates way how to “tame” social media and transform the prevailing discourse from hate-speech to dialogue and exchange between civilizations.

–Petrit Selimi,

–Jak Gjoni,

Deputy Foreign Minister of Kosovo

Director of International Institute

and initiator of Interfaith Kosovo

for Interfaith Dialogue, Prishtina

Interfaith Kosovo – a native response to global challenges Petrit Selimi, Deputy Foreign Minister of Kosovo, initiator of Interfaith Kosovo Jak Gjoni, Director of International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue, Prishtina

Four years ago, Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a project called “Interfaith Kosovo”. It was a joint platform that involved faith leaders, civil society activist, governments members, academics and media from around the world that sought to research and develop innovative approach to combing foreign affairs and public diplomacy on one side and religion on the other side.

We offered Kosovo as a basis to have in-depth discussion and develop cutting edge tools in promoting of interfaith dialogue as quintessential element in global quest to resolve religious differences that in recent years evolved into violent extremism.

We launched the program in 2012 with a small workshop in Prishtina dedicated to the anniversary of Emperor Constantine, one of the early ecumenical figures of humanity. Soon after we developed multi-lingual web portal interfaithkosovo.org and we started using social media in promoting the best practices in the region and world on promotion of interfaith dialogue. We continued ever year with the annual flagship event held in different cities of Kosovo. Among prominent guests of Interfaith Kosovo in the last 3 years were HRH Prince Ghazi of Jordan, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Dean of Yale Divinity College Miroslav Volf, foreign ministers, ambassadors, theologians, faith leaders, activists, journalists from over 60 countries.

We are organized workshops on promoting the Jewish heritage in Kosovo and we have raised a monument in the garden of Kosovo Parliament to commemorate the victims of Holocaust from Kosovo. We have organized lectures focused on issues of religion and society. We have published books and blogs that promote the agenda of reconciliation in Kosovo. We organize every year a summer school, together with Tony Blair Faith Foundation, where we discuss in academic setting issues that intertwine foreign affairs and religion.

Participants of the 2014 Interfaith Conference in Prizren agreed on formalizing Interfaith Kosovo into a non-profit centre named International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue that will continue to develop and diversify portfolio of activities aimed at promoting interfaith dialogue and countering the discourse offered by violent extremists. Both Secretary General of UN Ban Ki Mun as well as State Department’s Report on Religious Freedoms, specifically noted the positive role played by Interfaith Kosovo as an engine of activities related.

Kosovo had a story to tell – a story of a tortured history, war, conflict but also of progressive nation-building and forward-looking post-conflict society. Seldom in today’s world you find a country with overwhelming Muslim population, where Jewish rabbis feel like rock stars, where the main city squares carry statues of catholic saints like the Mother Theresa of Calcutta, whose father was a Kosovar and where secular society is at peace with the religious domain. Kosovo is the first Balkan country to have elected a woman president and is the only Balkan country to have given constitutional equal rights to LGBT minority.

Kosovo breaks the mold of the “clash of civilizations” because Kosovars have historically rejected to be put in a box of exclusive identities. Kosovo Bektashi Muslims always grew and sold wine, Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo were always used by Muslims too, when they were seeking a cure and hope for the sick family members. Albanian tribesmen of the past centuries were always the guards of the medieval Christian churches and monasteries. The rich historic heritage of interfaith tolerance and cooperation in Kosovo is a special story that proves that we need not divide the world into black and white, where these categories are used to identify people of other religion, ethnicity or gender.

This tolerance resisted the terrible oppression during years of the rule by dictator Milosevic It resisted the war of 1998-99 but is now in danger, just like in all the world, by the violent extremism and absolutist discourse that is dividing societies and ripping families apart.

Kosovo is a secular, democratic society but not still not healed from wounds of war. Certainly not immune to the global threat posed by violent extremism.

Around 50 to 60 young Kosovars are currently in deserts of Syria and Iraq fighting for one of the most brutal enemies of humanity in modern times.

Interfaith Kosovo project is now seeking active responses on how to tackle this situation, especially in the field of digital communication. This year’s conference in Prishtina is meant to seek best tools that support civic activism, increase

the digital footprint of interfaith efforts and debates way how to “tame” social media and transform the prevailing discourse from hate-speech to dialogue and exchange between civilizations.

Allow us to thank our sponsors for this years event: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Norwegian Embassy in Kosovo, United Nations Mission in Kosovo, US Embassy in Prishtina, UK’s FCO and EU office in Kosovo. We wholeheartedly thank Tony Blair Faith Foundation, House of Europe, Community of San Egidio, Indonesia’s Mahmuddia organization Doha Center for Interfaith Dialogue, KAICID and other institutional partners with whom we have established a very good and deep cooperation throughout last 4 years.

We hope you will have an insightful and productive participation in this years event.

Do tell us of ways how we can improve and follow us on social networks to check out for our latest activities.

The conversations we start here in Pristina must continue online, where social media can help us mediate a better society across borders and faith lines. – Brian Pellot, Director of Global Strategy, Religion News Service

Why are we here?

Brian Pellot, Director of Global Strategy, Religion News Service

To well-off Millennials and digital natives who live in free and connected societies, social media is not a phenomenon or a passing craze. It’s not a threat to tradition or a miraculous opportunity. It’s an integral part of our personal and professional lives and a primary means of communication. It’s the default. It’s the norm. It just is.

Digital screens greet us in the morning and tuck us into bed at night, often still vibrating beneath our pillows. Only when we’re tongue-tied by dead batteries or spotty Internet coverage does this modern technology’s importance become more than an afterthought.

So if social media just is, why are we gathered here in Kosovo to discuss interfaith dialogue in the age of social media? If the medium is so ingrained in how we communicate that some of us consider it irrelevant or fail to consider it at all, what makes this more than another generic conference about interfaith dialogue?

First of all, we are not all Millennials or digital natives. We do not all enjoy fast, reliable and affordable mobile coverage at home. Many in our societies cannot afford smartphones or laptops. Some of us live in countries where the Internet is heavily censored. In short, we can’t all take social media for granted.

For the billions of people who have never been online, many of whom will join us in the coming decade, these platforms still represent both real opportunities and real threats.

Myanmar offers an interesting glimpse at what can happen when a society, long isolated, is suddenly brought online in the age of social media.

Five years ago, before sweeping reforms cracked open Myanmar’s telecommunications sector, mobile SIM cards cost up to $2,000 -- 10 times more than a person’s average annual income. Flash forward to 2014, after the arrival of

two international carriers, and SIMs cost a mere $1.50. Today, mobile phone shops line the bustling streets of Yangon and quiet corners of small towns across much of the country. Young entrepreneurs sell mobile credit and set up users’ Facebook accounts from rickety tables.

In a matter of months, affordable mobile Internet coverage went from an impossible dream to an exciting reality. But just like any transition so rapid, this new reality -- Myanmar’s digital revolution -- has also been somewhat of a nightmare.

Not all social media users in Myanmar seem to grasp or choose to acknowledge the sarcasm inherent in that popular adage, “If it’s on the Internet, it must be true.”

Radical Buddhist monks have circulated unsubstantiated rumors and falsehoods on Facebook, fueling riots that have led to deaths. The most infamous of these monks is Ashin Wirathu, who TIME Magazine dubbed “The Face of Buddhist Terror.” Wirathu has used social media to spew faith-based extremism and bolster support for violent Islamophobic intolerance. The situation is grim, clearly, but not without remedy.

A local coalition of civil society activists called Panzagar, which means “flower speech” in Myanmar, has teamed up with Facebook to combat and counter this spread of hateful and dangerous speech. Last fall my organization Religion Newswriters Foundation trained journalists and bloggers from across Myanmar how to responsibly cover faith and conflict without stoking the flames of discontent. We also advised Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu and Christian faith leaders how to accurately represent themselves when interacting with online and traditional media as a means of balancing and overpowering extremists, who are often louder and better organized than those seeking peace.

This rapid spread of dangerous speech and positive efforts to counter it are hardly unique to Myanmar, as we’re all well aware.

KAICIID, an interfaith dialogue center based in Vienna, is training religious leaders and dialogue practitioners how to counter violent extremism through social media. Google is exploring how technology and social media can be used to prevent the radicalization of young people and to de-radicalize others.

Google also sponsored our Religion News Service to report on efforts to promote religious tolerance and combat hatred online.

These kinds of collaborations among civil society organizations, faith leaders, policymakers, corporate representatives, media professionals and general

publics are critical if our efforts to counter violent extremism stand any chance of success. In the age of social media, offline conferences merely represent a beginning. The conversations we start here in Pristina must continue online, where social media can help us mediate a better society across borders and faith lines.

Yes, violent extremists can use social media to spread lies, recruit disenfranchised communities and indoctrinate disaffected and vulnerable individuals, but they don’t hold a monopoly on these channels. Peace advocates can just as easily and effectively use social media to directly counter their messages of hatred and intolerance without stifling freedom of expression. Through positive messaging we can critique their hypocrisies and condemn their injustices. Through biting satire we can undermine their ability to recruit allies and erode their power. If we collaborate, if we learn from one another both online and off, we can have the last laugh.

Now let’s get to work.

Interfaith dialog is being promoted not because dialog among faiths is a problem in Kosovo, but precisely because it is a field of recognized success. – Dr. Dimitris Moschopoulos, UNDP/Advisor on Religious and Cultural Heritage

Why Interfaith in Kosovo?

Ambassador Dr. Dimitris Moschopoulos, UNDP/Advisor on Religious and Cultural Heritage

Being at a crossroads in the Balkans where different cultures and religions have succeeded one another, sometimes lived together and often clashed with each other, Kosovo has a long and rich history, the extant material legacy of which goes back thousands of years, as far back as the Neolithic period. Such legacy includes prehistoric sites and artifacts, archeological sites from antiquity and early Christian times, the ruins of the Roman town of Ulpiana, etc.

As a result of its later history, starting in the Middle Ages, the territory of Kosovo has become a rich mosaic of religious and cultural traditions that have shaped this area and have left to humanity many important religious and cultural sites.

These sites, regardless of their religious affiliation or ethnic identity, have attained universality and are a valuable part of the world cultural heritage. Both Christian and Muslim sites fall in this category; prominent among them are of course the sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

But the realm of history is first and foremost the realm of pain and suffering. And the phrase “rich history” has become a euphemism for saying that a given history has been a history of strife, conflict, war and destruction. Nowhere is this more apposite than in the Balkans (cf. also the saying that “the Balkans produce more history than they can consume”). Kosovo has had more than its fair share of this kind of history, the recent conflict being the latest and hopefully the last episode of this long history of strife and war. Thousands of lives were lost during the war in the late 1990’s, and the aftermath of that war has seen more loss of life and property.

Prominent among the ruins caused by the recent conflict are religious sites of the two main religions represented in the region, churches and monasteries on one hand, and mosques on the other. The loss of important items of religious and cultural heritage has been enormous. One tends to bemoan more the destruction of cultural heritage of exceptional quality and of universal value – and some of

the cultural items destroyed in the Kosovo conflict belong in that category. But we should not forget that in fact every heritage is unique and holds inestimable value for the community that has created or inherited it. Destruction of such heritage amounts to destruction of a community’s spirit and as such is as serious as destruction of life.

Kosovo is now in a post-conflict situation, and in the process of building and rebuilding, both at the material level, in terms of infrastructure, and at the level of institutions and of community spirit. Reconciliation among the people who fought against each other in the conflict is of paramount importance and an indispensable task.

Interfaith dialog is a most valuable tool to that end, as inter-faith relations seem to have come out of the conflict practically unscathed. Indeed the conflict, like most conflicts in the region’s modern and recent history, was interethnic in nature and not a war of religions. Religion played a secondary role in it, in fact its role was more often that of a victim than that of an accomplice.

That interreligious relations have developed in Kosovo in a clearly positive direction is a very remarkable and very welcome phenomenon. One could adduce a number of explanations for it. The history and the geographical position of the country, half-way between the Catholic and the Orthodox capitals of Christianity, has allowed the two major Christian Churches to develop and interact here, and the Ottoman Empire which introduced Islam into the region displayed remarkable tolerance in matters of religion. The religious modus vivendi that had developed through centuries was respected to a large extent also during the Yugoslav times. And today’s Kosovo is resolutely and officially secular, a state of things which allows space for free expression and choice in developing inter-faith relations.

Major credit for the development of inter-faith relations must go of course to the religious leaders involved, who people of inspiring vision and enlightenment who have managed to establish a true bond of mutual respect and dialog fostered in their frequent meetings and discussions. Whereas nationalism, which caused the conflict, is by definition exclusive (it is based on the exclusion of the Other), these religious leaders have sought the inclusive elements inherent in religion, that is,

the common points of their different religions, and they are putting them to good use in order to promote understanding and peace.

The Interfaith Initiative, which has been active in Kosovo for the past four years and is the organizer of yearly International Interfaith Conferences, is based on the same philosophy: use the inclusive elements contained in religion for the common good, enhancing understanding and peace.

Why in Kosovo? Because, in the process of building and rebuilding that it is going through, Kosovo needs to use the best means available to it, and inter-faith dialog is, in these hard post-conflict times, a field promising progress and a better future.

Inter-ethnic dialog remains the main challenge, where important difficulties still persist. It is therefore reasonable for Kosovo to turn to the kind of dialog that is proving positive and draw the conclusions that can be used in tackling persisting difficulties in the inter-ethnic dialog.

It is common practice to organize conferences in order to tackle problems and seek solutions to them. The problem to solve becomes the subject matter of the conference. The Interfaith Conference in Kosovo is not that kind of conference.

Interfaith dialog is being promoted not because dialog among faiths is a problem in Kosovo, but precisely because it is a field of recognized success. Interfaith dialog is not part of the problem, but part of the solution.

One important point to be underlined: Kosovo is not alone in trying to build up a better future for its people; the international community has as serious a stake in Kosovo’s success as Kosovo itself and is a valuable partner in all its efforts, including in this Interfaith Conference.

At least fifty percent of you, from different faiths or none, from far flung corners of the globe, from different political persuasions, are in Kosovo today because we reached you through it. – Marc Perry, Digital Editor, Interfaith Kosovo.

What can we learn from ISIS? Marc Perry, Digital Editor, Interfaith Kosovo.

How would you like 20,000 to 35,000 thousand social media followers?

Few of us have such a following, but that’s the kind of power found in the hands of certain ISIS actors in Syria or Iraq. The shear volume of material put out is staggering: one estimate suggests 2,000 of their accounts send bursts of 50 or more tweets per day. That’s 100,000 disseminated images of battleground victories, smiling martyrs, captured weaponry, headless battered victims and videos debunking their opponent’s propaganda sent around the globe in seconds.

The top down message of a relatively small group of social media specialists is amplified by an estimated 45,000 followers – most of whom have followings in the low hundreds – circulating memes far faster than counter-terror practitioners can keep pace with. As soon as one account is shut down, others spring up; it’s a worthy task, but ultimately a bit part in a play of multiple responses.

We can counter by talking of peace and tolerance, but it doesn’t sell a story, it’s not so enticingly clickable. The newsroom motto, “If it bleeds it leads” is turned around in ISIS circles to tempt those teetering on the edge of extremist action with violent imagery, emotive arguments, evocative music, dramatic suspense and superlative editing. It’s effective because it imitates every trick the media world has ever employed, from Hollywood to printed word, from News at Ten to Twitter. Yet sometimes the tricks backfire. Outrageous stunts – such as the burning alive of Jordanian pilot in a cage – galvanized the majority of a whole nation against ISIS. The call of extremism everywhere – to violently split societies down lines of “us” versus the “rest” by offering simple solutions to complex questions, requires an intelligent, multi-faceted response. No one has all the answers. At this conference we aim to define the response by connecting experts on extremism with storytellers and the social media savvy. This is a place where we can soak up and share inspiring ideas to put into action.

So what inspiration can we draw from counter messages that are already out there?

Stories that open the heart provide powerful counter-narratives. The mournful sorrow of Canadian mother Christianne Boudreau, who lost her son to extremism in Syria, makes clear the painful consequences of following a path to un-glorious death on a battlefield far from home. What drew her son, Damian, to die in vain was the belief that he had transformed his life from one of no purpose into one infused with meaning. To those tempted by this “call to purpose” or to false promises of adventure and spiritual fulfillment we must offer alternative paths: of humanitarian action from home, of social activism, of deep faith, but above all of intelligently argued answers to deep dilemmas.

“We need a hero-industrial complex,” says Suleiman Bakhit, creator of an extremist beating hero called of Abdullah X. Suleiman reckons the biggest threat to the Middle East is “terrorism disguised as heroism,” so his YouTube videos get down into the nitty-gritty details of countering radicalized thinking via superhero role models who encourage critical thinking. If you haven’t seen Abdullah X in action do so, he’s inspiringly clever.

Comedy is a final inspiration I will mention here; as Mark Twain once said: “The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter”. Numerous parodies poke fun at puritanical extremists desiring BMW’s, or at comic suicide bombers running round in training camps. Laughter puts perspective on bizarre realities and helps change minds. It’s not funny, but we can learn a lot from extremists. By employing the same top-down and bottom-up social media strategies as ISIS we can start to turn the tide against them. As individuals we often rely on others to act for us, but we, the silent majority, have all the tools at our disposal. Together we can produce constant disruption, positive and engaging messaging, on a scale never seen before – an industrial scale – until extremist violence eventually burns itself out on the battlefield.

One final thought, if you are in any doubt about the power of social media then consider this: at least fifty percent of you, from different faiths or none, from far flung corners of the globe, from different political persuasions, are in Kosovo today because we reached you through it.

Enjoy the conference, keep the networks building and let’s amplify each other’s voices.

words of wisdom from the faith representatives of Kosovo stated during our previous events & publications

The world today needs more than ever cultivation and practice of divine lessons, words of the God, which bring peace, tranquility, love, understanding, dialogue and respect, without making distinctions in ethnicity, race and religion. It is exactly these words and orders that make us believers. – Mufti Naim Ternava

The children, their families, the youth, and the intellectual and creative world should all be active in this respect in order to create a joint forum to fight and defeat the evil, the hatred, and the division as symptoms of modern slavery. This would create a new worldview, without differences and religious, ethnic, and cultural exclusions, where there would be a place for everyone. – Don Lush GJERGJI

Although these sites belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church, they are also a part of the rich heritage in Kosovo, Europe and the World. For years together with other people of good will in Kosovo we have managed to develop a concept of inclusive identity which preserves the original identity of religious and cultural sites and at the same time makes them open for members of other communities with which we share this beautiful land. One of our main intentions is to make these sites bridges of reconcilliation and understanding because they are above all the houses of God which are meant to be the home and refuge for all who wish to become closer to God and experience spiritual enrichment.

I am particularly priviledged to say that after the difficult challenges of the armed conflict in 1999 we have managed together with the leaders of other religions in Kosovo to establish a true bond of mutual respect and dialog which we are forstering in our frequent meetings and discussions. True, our religions and traditions have differencies but at the same time, we share a lot from our common Abrahamic tradition. That is why the dialog is so much important, not in order to merge our faiths but rather to achieve better understanding of one another’s tradition and teaching and define areas in which we can work together offering a significant contribution to the society in which we live and work. – Bishop Teodosije, Diocesan Bishop of the Raťka and Prizren Diocese

The limits of life are immeasurable, too wide, and the people are the ones who move in this wideness.

Therefore, today we must perfect ourselves, to debate freely, each one or their own idea, or their own religious choice, without feeling hurt. – Bektashi Community Gjakova Baba Mumin Lama

Through its poetry, music, dance, unique aesthetic sensibility, advocacy of peace, love and mystical quest, the Sufi tradition seeks and celebrates direct love and communion with God which mirrors a deep connection with one’s own humanity. – Lulzim Shehu, Representative of Sufi Tarikats in Kosovo.

With the inauguration of the Holocaust Memorial plaque in honor of the 92 Jewish victims of Kosovo, after 70 years Kosovo shows the maturity of the political establishment of the institutions. With this, Republic of Kosovo became “Par Excellence” junction of civilizations, religions and cultures in the history of humankind.

– Votim Demiri, Head of the Jewish Community of Kosovo

an innovative approach to diplomacy through civil society and interfaith dialogue.

An innovative approach to diplomacy through civil society. In an age when networks and institutions become increasingly intertwined, it is more imperative than ever to understand our neighbors, and them to understand us.

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What is Interfaith Kosovo all about?

Interfaith Kosovo initiatives are a joint effort of Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prishtina based NGO International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue (IIID).

They combine an innovative approach to diplomacy through civil society. In an age when networks and institutions become increasingly intertwined, it is more imperative than as ever to understand our neighbors, and them to understand us.

Kosovo has taken important steps towards interfaith dialogue domestically and internationally. Creating an annual ecumenical conference with international and local faith leaders and academics, promoting tolerance.

The International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue (IIID) was founded in 2014 and is run by a team from different religious and cultural backgrounds. A managing board that includes representatives of Catholic, Islamic, Orthodox faiths, Academia and the International Community, oversees the activities of the NGO. IIID has four long-term aims: To promote continued reconciliation in Kosovo by bringing the best global practices in dialogue and peace-building together.

To promote Kosovo as a platform for global dialogue, interfaith research and practice.

To counteract hate-speech and intolerance with positive engagement, deepening understanding between faiths and peoples, particularly the young.

To develop a sustainably functioning Interfaith center in Kosovo.

Our joint activities to date mainly include digital media communications, publications, national event orchestration and international conferences.

Our multi-language (English, Albanian, Serbian, French and Arabic) web-site serves as a platform where issues of faith, reconciliation and tolerance are addressed through reports, blogs and news items.

Our web-site aims to counter-act hate-speech by publishing contemporary articles that reflect long traditions of tolerance in the region, as well promoting discussion of interfaith issues. The website, and public engagement in general, is promoted via our social media profiles on Twitter and Facebook.

Interfaith Kosovo’s achievements include a commendation from UN Security Council for contributions toward greater stability and a mention in the International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 by the United States Department of State.

Whirling Dervishes in a ceremony that took place in Prizren, Kosovo Photo: Ermal Meta

In the 2013 International Interfaith Conference held from 24-26 May in Peja, Kosovo, the Peja Principles were drafted, where all parties committed to common goals and agreed to work jointly towards a more tolerant future.

The following year, in the Conference held from 2325 May 2014 in Prizren, Kosovo, the participants endorsed the establishment of a Kosovo-based International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue, which is now the co-organizer of this year’s Conference.

The Peja Principles were drafted during the 2013 International Interfaith Conference, held in Peja from May 2426 2013. They are considered the official outcome of the conference.

1. We reiterate the willingness of all parties to work together, in Kosovo and wider world, towards better interfaith understanding.

2. We recognize that inter-religious dialogue is enriched by appreciation of compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, and the quest for justice and peace enshrined in the Abrahamic traditions and faiths others than their own.

3. We confirm our willingness to learn from the Sacred Texts of traditions other than their own.

4. We stress the necessity of taking as much time as is needed in working for the common good of humanity through dialogue.

5. We confirm the commitment of all parties to work together toward a more peaceful and tolerant future.

6. We reiterate the understanding that inter-religious dialogue is not only the preserve of scholars but includes all members of mosques, churches, temples, synagogues, and other faith communities – including particularly the voices of women, young people and children.

7. We stress the importance of international stakeholders such as donor community, international multilateral organizations and others to make available resources for ensuring open channels of dialogue and communication.

8. The participants of the Interfaith Conference in Kosovo, as people who strongly believe in dialogue and reconciliation, want to express our sincere hope that the forthcoming processes aimed at ending of the conflict in Syria, will demonstrate the will of all parties to listen to, understand, and work to live in peace with each other. This must lead to implementation of a peace agreement to immediately end the conflict to the benefit of all the people of Syria and across the region.

9. Where inter-religious dialogue works, trust between the different parties grows, self-criticism begins to emerge, and solidarity between the parties flourishes. Faith works to build tolerance and mutual respect among disparate communities.

10. Building sustainable peace among people of faith starts with the kind of interfaith dialogue was strongly reinforced in the Peja/Pec Conference.

Fulfillment requires continued dialogue, enhanced understanding, increased tolerance, and sustained commitment toward learning from one another, openness, and recognition of common goals among faith communities.

significant personalities and significant moments that helped emphasize the need to start a dialogue among faiths.

For four years, the Interfaith Conference gathered significant people creating significant moments that helped emphasize the need to build bridges and start dialogues among faiths.

International Interfaith Conference 2013 Peja, Kosovo

Unveiling a plaque commemorating Kosovo Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Week of Telreance and Reconciliation 2013 Prishtina, Kosovo

Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga, Michio Umemoto, head of the Stone for Peace Association of Hiroshima, Japanese Ambassador Shigeo Iwatani and deputy Foreign deputy minister of Kosovo, Petrit Selimi, unveil a ‘Stone for Peace’ in Pristina during a ceremony.

Prishtina, 2013

International Interfaith Conference 2013 Peja, Kosovo

A public lecture by H.R.H. Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan on “Quran and Love� as part of the The Week of Tolerance and Reconciliation, organized by Interfaith Kosovo Prizren, 2014

Mr. Tony Blair, the patron of Tony Blair Faith Foundation and former prime minister of UK, visited Prishtina and held a lecture at the University of Prishtina, invited by Interfaith Kosovo Initiative.

Prishtina, 2011

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nts of ange activists tackling extremism in the field of digital communication.

This year’s conference is dedicated to bringing interfaith dialogue to youth, seeking best practices in using social media for countering hate messages and promoting dialogue among Kosovo communities.

Brandon Ambrosino

Brandon Ambrosino is a resident in Baltimore, Maryland and is a writer covering the intersection of culture and religion. He is a former writing fellow for Vox.com, and a former staff writer for Johns Hopkins University. His writings were published in the New York Times, Boston Globe, The Atlantic, TIME, The New Republic, Daily Beast, Quartz, Gawker, Buzzfeed, Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Magazine, and Narratively. Brandon is currently working on launching a digital religion publication, and is about to launch his first book. He got his degree from Liberty University, in Religion and Literature. In addition to writing, Brandon is also a professional dancer represented by Actors’ Equity Association, the oldest stage actors’ union in the US. Brandon enjoys hot yoga, white wine, and his wonderful boyfriend Andy.

Blair Albom

is a founding Board member of Tribe, an innovative Jewish organization that fosters spiritual practice and social engagement among young professionals who want to explore their connections to Judaism. In its inaugural year alone, Tribe has already created a robust, unique, and vibrant community that has garnered national attention in the United States. In her spare time, Ms. Albom is an associate in the Litigation Department of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. She received a J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2010 and a B.A. from Brown University in 2007.

Lucrezia Aresi

is 28, from Italy studied a Master’s Degree in International and European Politics. Of her experience she says, “I lived abroad in Serbia, Kosovo and Romania, working for International and non-governmental organizations. I focused on campaigns on social inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities and online campaigns, aimed to raise awareness on virtual world on issues of hate speech, online discrimination, cyber bullying and harassment.”

She organized activities to fight intolerance toward Roma community, creating a network with other NGOs to support Intercultural Dialogue. At the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, in Kosovo, she worked with minorities (Roma, Ashkali, Egyptians and Serbs), focusing on a project aimed to promote the political empowerment of Kosovo RAE women, encouraging their participation in the elections and empowering them in the local decisionmaking process. Lucrezia has an Advanced Diploma on Effective Electoral Assistance and worked as Coordinator of the AEGEE Election Observation Mission in Estonia for the Parliamentary Elections held in March 2015.

Sabri Bajgora

was born in 1964 in Pristina. He graduated in the Madrassa “Alaudin,” and went on to pursue studies at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. His post-graduate studies were undertaken at the American Open University in Cairo and also at the University of Dardania. Subjects covered during the course of his student years include Kornaic studies, Political Science and Public Administration. In 1992 he was elected Chief Imam of Islamic Community of Kosovo. Mr. Bajgora has participated in many symposiums including Washington, New York, Rome, Paris, Istanbul, Doha etc. His activities in global conferences have been mainly focused on tolerance and religious freedom. He is member of the State Commission on Religious Freedom in Kosovo. Mr. Bajgora is also the author of five books: Destruction of Islamic Heritage in Kosovo- Published by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo- Pristina, 2013 Monographic of destroyed mosques in Kosovo – 1998-1999, Pristina, 2000 Tafseer (Quran interpretation), Interpretation of Chapter 30 of the Quran, Interpretation of 99 names of God.

Shejh Sylejman Beqa

Shejh Sylejman Beqa was born in 1957 in Milliq, Gjakova.

He is married and is a father of two girls and three boys.

He has finished law studies in Prishtina and continued his master studies in Zurich. He speaks German and English.

He has started on spiritual path in 1976 and inaugurated Shejh in March 2010. He holds a Post in Dervish Syla Tekke in Mulliq which dates since 1912. Shejh Sulejmani is in Union of Kosova Tarikats one of Representatives with expertise in law.

Ambassador Mohammed Belmahi, KCFO

Mr. Belmahi held the position of Ambassador of HM the King of Morocco to the Court of Saint James’s (London, 1999-2009); and to India and Nepal (New Delhi, 19961999). Since 2014, Mr. Belmahi is the Managing Partners of the Quattro Group, an international business strategy consulting firm based in Casablanca. He also holds since 2013 the position of Senior Fellow at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (Morocco). From 2009 to 2013 he was the Chairman of the OCP Foundation, Adviser to the the OCP Group’s CEO as well as Architect-General of the same Group. Mr. Belmahi held executive positions at the ONA holding Group, as the General Manager of its tourism and real estate sector, and as Director General of the Casablanca World Trade Centre (1988-1995). He was a board director of the World Trade Center’s Association in New York from 1992 to 1996. He worked for the Moroccan Government from 1977 to 1988, successively as the Director General of the National Tourist Office of Morocco; Director of Tourism at the Ministry of Tourism; Director of National Land Use Planning at the Ministry of Housing and Land Use Planning; and Attached to the Prime Minister, (task force in charge of the reform of the State-owned enterprise sector). He was a staff member at the United Nations Centre for Housing, Building and Planning, in New York (1974-1976). Mr. Belmahi is a certified architect by the French Government (DPLG). He also holds two Masters’ degrees from New York University (in Urban Planning and in Public Administration). He attended Harvard Institute for International Development (1981) and the Senior Executive Programme of London Business School (1991). Mr. Belmahi is born in Rabat-Morocco (18/8/1948), married since 1973, with one daughter.

Andrea Behm

Andrea Behm, German, holds a LL.M (University of Munich) and MA Peace Research (University of Hagen) and has worked extensively in the field of Transitional Justice and religion as a mechanism to come to terms with the past in Cambodia. She is currently working as Director and Senior Human Rights Officer for the OSCE Regional Centre in PejĂŤ (Kosovo) and as such is involved in interfaith dialogue projects.

Jason Bruck

Jason Bruck is from New York City. He went to Binghamton University and received degrees in Philosophy, Politics, and Law & Nursing. He worked as an EMT in Israel and New York and has worked as a nurse in the Emergency Department, Transplant, and Intensive Care Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital. He is currently in school for anesthesia at Columbia University in New York. He is founding board Member of Tribe, a Jewish outreach group for Jewish millennials in New York City.

Francisco Blanco

Professor Francisco Javier Blanco was born in Spain, and since 1986 is resident in the Republic of Panama.

He holds a Bachelor degree of Social Science in History, by the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and also a Bachelor in Religious Studies from the Universidad La Salle in Mexico.

Also he holds a Master of Social Doctrine of the Church, the Pontifical University of Salamanca and PhD studies in Philosophical Science (Ethics) from the University of Havana, Cuba, and an online course “How to Teach Ethics, Social Capital and Development at the University “, the Institute of Advanced Studies for the Americas of the Organization of American States.

Professor Blanco is a professor at the Catholic University Santa Maria la Antigua in Panama, where he shared classes in the departments of Church History, Ethics and Morals, Ethics and Social Morality, Contemporary Problems of Ethics. It has also served as a Director of Admissions and Scholarships, Life University, Integral Training (General Studies) and, actually, since 2007, he is Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Religious Sciences.

He is also a founding member and secretary of the Ecumenical Institute, Society and Development (IESDE), the Ecumenical Committee of Panama and member of the National Bioethics Committee of Panama.

He has published numerous articles in newspapers and magazines and given seminars and conferences in different and various professional associations and groups on history, ethics, theology, teaching models, human rights and social issues in general conference.

Enda Byrne

Endya Byrne was born & schooled in Dublin, Ireland. After a degree in Social Sciences at UCD, undertook 2 years voluntary service with an international peace movement in Mauritius working as a Community Development Officer with post-cyclone victims. Postgraduate study at Edinburgh University led to working with Oxfam in Oxford and later in their Nairobi Regional Office planning and monitoring Oxfam-sponsored projects in 12 countries in Eastern Africa. (67) Later managed a programme of volunteers on Church-based development projects in the same region. (82) Seven years working with Kenya Catholic Bishops as national Director for Development & Social Services, included a very active membership of Caritas Internationalis’ Executive Committee in Rome.

In Kenya, he helped to start the DELTA programme of community education which adapted the philosophy and methodology of Paulo Freire to local socio-political & cultural realities, and later to extend it to many other countries throughout Africa. Since 1984, Enda has been using DELTA’s participatory approach in partnership with local faith-based organisations in Southern Africa, Sudan, Liberia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Timor. The programme has now been taken up in over 50 countries worldwide.

Scott Burkholder

Scott Burkholder grew up in rural Minnesota (USA). He moved to Baltimore, Maryland (USA) to attend the Johns Hopkins University and earned two engineering degrees.

Following graduation he did scientific research. He left the lab after 2 years to operate a residential painting company.

In 2008 he was invited by Baltimore artist Michael Owen to manage the Baltimore Love Project, the largest self initiated public art project in Baltimore. The combination of art and entrepreneurship has captured Scott’s attention. He promotes art full time in Baltimore and is working to create a social venture capital firm. Currently he serves as the manager of the director’s office at the Baltimore Museum of Art and was recently awarded a National Arts Strategy Fellowship, and a Young Cultural Innovator Fellowship through the Salzburg Global Seminar. He is presently working on a publication that will consider pressing social issues through the lens of Faith. He is an avid reader, enjoys ultra endurance mountain biking, and adores his wife Jennifer.

Stela Braje

Stela Braje studied law for four years at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb (Croatia), and is currently enrolled at the Faculty of Political Sciences, also in Zagreb. Through the years she has participated in workshops and lectures considering post-transitional democracy and terrorism issues, but she is also interested in the sphere of human rights violations and protections. She is currently working as a project coordinator in an NGO based in Zagreb (Croatia) that offers informal education and reconciliation workshops and seminars. She is coordinating a project called, Model International Criminal Court Western Balkans, which aims to bring high school students from Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina together, and to work with them on breaking the taboo of the Yugoslav war history and stereotypes. She is also working as debate trainer, focusing on both high school students and University students.

Josef Bartošek

Josef Bartošek graduated in Technical University in Prague in 1975 and in the Theological faculty of Charles University in 2003. He was active in ECG (European Contact Group) after 1989 (the Velvet Revolution) and helped to renew the YMCA in Czech Republic. I was also a protestant minister in a Czech Brethern Church promoting tolerance and cooperation. He now lectures in Jainism and Sikhism in the Charles University in Prague and deals with research in Jaina studies, seeking non-violent solutions of conflicts and mutual understanding of people of different cultures and religions.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Founder and Executive Director of The World Values Network, is an American Orthodox Rabbi and a leading global advocate for Jewish values and defense of Israel. In addition to his work through his foundation, he is a noted author, TV host, and public speaker. Although Rabbi Shmuley is best known for his close relationships with countless celebrities and elected officials on both sides of the aisle, his passion lies in the rabbinical tradition of supporting Jewish values, spirituality, and relationships. He is the author of 29 books, including several best-sellers that have been translated into 20 languages. He is a sought after commentator on issues in the news, including appearances ranging from The Oprah Winfrey Show and CNN to Fox News and Al Jazeera. He formerly hosted his own XM Satellite Radio program, and is a regular contributor for top-tier global media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, New York Observer, and The Daily Beast, among others. Rabbi Shmuley was a student of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and at his direction, served as the Rabbi for students at Oxford University for 11 years.

While at Oxford, he built the Oxford L’Chaim Society into the second-largest student organization in the University’s storied history, including nearly 5,000 non-Jewish members. Rabbi Shmuley is married to his wife, Debbie.

They have nine children and two grandchildren.

Ambassador Robert Eduard Bosch

Robert Eduard Bosch, Official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, is the Netherlands’ Ambassador to Kosovo. After serving as a military officer, and passing some years as a project developer Mr. Bosch joined the foreign service in 1981 and worked at the Dutch Embassies in: Maputo, (development); Jakarta (financial and regional aid); Stockholm; Luxembourg (political); and Vienna; as well as in various positions at the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs in The Hague. He also participated in World Bank Balance of Payment evaluation missions to Africa.

Subsequently, Mr. Bosch held the following assignments: Deputy Head of Mission, Lisbon (1999-2002); Charge d’Affaires, Lisbon (2003); Seconded to the Directorate for Western and Central Europe (2003-2004); Coordinator, World Conference on Disaster Reduction (2004-2005); Acting Head of Division, Eastern European Division (2005); Deputy Head of Mission, Permanent Representation to the OSCE, Vienna (2005-2007); Head of Mission, OSCE Mission to Albania, Tirana (2007-2010); Netherlands’ Ambassador to Kosovo, Pristina (2010-present). In addition to Dutch, Mr. Bosch has a good working knowledge of English, German, and Swedish languages and a reasonable command of French, Portuguese and Indonesian. He also has some knowledge of Russian.

Ambassador Rexhep Boja

Dr. Rexhep Boja was born on 20.06.1946 in the village Kërrnicë (Klina), the Republic of Kosovo, in the average Muslim family. He completed elementary school in his hometown. Mr. Boja did his graduate and post graduate studies at the Islamic University of Medina, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And after that, he finished doctorate, returned to Kosovo, where he began to work as imam in the city of Peja. Later, he began working as a professor in “Alaudin” school, the only Islamic Madrasa in the Republic of Kosovo. In 1990 he was elected President of the Islamic Community and subsequently re-elected for three terms (over 13 years). He led this institution at the most difficult times through which Kosovo has passed since 1990 until 2003. In 1992, Dr. Boja was elected Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies and has continued in this position for many years. While was the head of the Islamic Community of Kosovo, he participated in over 150 conferences, symposiums and meetings of international levels. He continues to participate in conferences, meetings and symposiums worldwide and works and represents many institutions as Advisor to the Minister of Health of Kosovo, Official coordinator for charitable and human activities in Arab countries, Member of the Supreme Council for Mosques at the Muslim World League etc.

Monica Bickert

Monika Bickert is Facebook’s head of product policy.

Her global team manages the policies for what types of content can be shared on Facebook and how advertisers and developers can interact with the site. Monika originally joined Facebook in 2012 as lead security counsel, advising the company on matters including child safety and data security.

Prior to joining Facebook, Monika served as Resident Legal Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, where she specialized in Southeast Asian rule of law development and response to child exploitation and human trafficking.

She also served as Assistant United States Attorney for 11 years in Washington, DC, and Chicago, prosecuting federal crimes ranging from public corruption to gang-related violence. Monika received a B.A. in Economics and English from Rice University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Elton Bellopoja

comes from a small city near Pristina called Vushtrri. He is a law student in the third year and speaks three languages.

In the future he would like to work the field of human rights, and has a good knowledge of the political and social context of Kosovo. He has completed an internship for Youth Initiative for Human Rights - YIHR - a regional organization that works defending Human Rights. He is doing an internship at the National Democratic Institute – NDI, an International Organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in Government.

Stephanie Ball

Stephanie graduated from Cornell University in 2013 and currently lives in NYC where she works for a social media start-up, tsu. A disruptive social media platform that shares 90% of ad revenues with its users. This summer Stephanie will be partaking in the iLEAD Intergenerational Leadership Entrepreneurial Accelerated Development) program. iLEAD is an international exchange and leadership program for future executives from American, Chinese and other international family enterprises run by the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

Femi Cakolli

was born 1st March 1969 in Mirash, Malisheva town, Republic of Kosovo. He comes from a family that worked for national of freedom and educational progress. He got his bachelor degree in Albanian Language and Literacy from University of Prishtina in 1992. He finished his postgraduate studies in Albanian Literacy in University of Prishtina, in 1998. Mr. Cakolli is also writer of publications such as interviews, poems, critics and 260 science papers.

Since 1986 he is active in different associations and is founder and editor of different magazines. Since 1992 he was invited for purpose of teaching, training in the field of journalism, comparative literary studies, theological and historical, in Albania, Macedonia, USA, UK, South Africa, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Turkey, Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Philippines, Belgium, etc.

Ian Bancroft

Ian Bancroft is currently EULEX’s coordinator for north Kosovo, having served as head of the Brčko Office of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ian was previously the executive director of TransConflict, an organization undertaking conflict transformation projects and research. Ian has written for The Guardian, UN Global Experts and Business New Europe on Western Balkan affairs, focusing primarily on Serbia, Kosovo and BosniaHerzegovina, and has provided analysis and insight to a variety of media outlets, including the BBC, Radio Free Europe and Voice of America. Ian is also the author of a chapter, entitled ‘Reconciliation through Recognition’, in ‘The Yugoslav Example: Violence, War and Difficult Ways Towards Peace’. Ian has delivered trainings on conflict sensitivity to UN staff in south Serbia, taught a course on south Serbia at Singidunum University’s Center for Comparative Conflict Studies (CFCCS) in Belgrade and was part of a UN-funded research team exploring the drivers of conflict in south Serbia. Ian has spoken at a number of international conferences on a range of topics related to peacebuilding in post-war contexts. Ian was previously employed as a consultant to the Democratization Department of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he worked on strengthening local governance and civil society. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics (LSE), focusing primarily on democracy and democratization, particularly in deeply-divided societies.

J. Daryl Byler

is Executive Director at the Center for Justice and Peace building at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia (USA). From 2007 until 2013, Byler lived in Amman, Jordan. He served as a regional representative for Mennonite Central Committee. In this capacity he worked with local civil society organizations in Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Israel-Palestine on a variety of humanitarian assistance, development, interfaith and peace building projects. From 1994 until 2007, he served as director of Mennonite Central Committee’s Washington Office where he worked with Christian, Muslim and Jewish organizations on a variety of public policy issues. From 1988 to 1994 Byler served as a staff attorney with East Mississippi Legal Services in Meridian, Mississippi. During this time, he was pastor of an inter-racial congregation in the same city.

Byler graduated from University of Virginia School of Law in 1988.

Anlan (Annie) Cheney

Ais a recent graduate in Communications from the United States. She spent this spring studying Peace & Conflict in Belgrade, Serbia, where she researched and produced a journalism piece on sport, politics and identity in SerbiaKosovo relations. She will spend the summer working with the USAID Transformational Leadership Program - Scholarships and Partnerships (TLP-SP) in Pristina and plans to return to Belgrade this fall to pursue a Master’s degree in International Relations through the University of Belgrade Regional Peace Studies program.

Sadete Çitaku

is 24, studies Psychology and Law at the University of Pristina. Her hobbies include is writing, walking and watching movies. Her dream is to be able to help other people and her best experience in life was a “work and travel” program in America two years ago. She speaks English, Albanian and a little Serbian. She likes to read books, to know the mind of authors and her favorite quote is “We’re born to learn and die to live”.

Gabriella Cseh

is a lawyer and Head of Public Policy for Central and Eastern Europe for Facebook. Currently, she covers public policies and regulatory relations of Facebook in the CEE region. Her focus is in issues related to data protection, content policies and freedom of speech, privacy, digital market, job creation and the economic impact of Facebook in Europe, internet safety, the open Internet, and more broadly the social value generated by Internet-related services. Prior to join Facebook, she was the executive director of Hungarian Public Service Radio for four years and for seven years as the external relations director for PanTel telecommunications Ltd. Gabriella has also served as a diplomat and a civil servant

Valbone Dërmaku

Valbone Dërmaku, National Human Rights Advisor, Tolerance and Non-discrimination Section in the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. Valbone has been involved in interfaith work for many years and currently she is leading the OSCE’s project on Promoting Inter-faith dialogue in Kosovo. Before joining the Mission in Kosovo she was working in the different governmental organizations, international organizations and local NGO’s. She holds Master of Science Degree in Professional Studies - Public Administrationfrom the American University in Kosovo/ Rochester Institute of Technology.

Charlotte Dando

Charlotte Dando is an interfaith activist based in London, UK and a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain. Charlotte has worked with numerous interfaith and intercultural organisations, delivering presentations and workshops throughout the UK, Europe and in San Francisco, as well as writing many blogs and articles on interfaith action. She volunteers as part of a team of young leaders consulting on the URI (United Religions Initiative) youth programme in Europe, and is a freelance facilitator leading interfaith workshops in schools for 3FF (Three Faiths Forum). Charlotte recently cofounded the European Network of Young Interfaith Leaders - an innovative, capacity building organisation.

Jelena Đordevic

coordinator of the Youth forum of Igman initiative for Serbia.

YFII is a youth network which includes more than 150 NGOs from the signatory countries of Dayton Peace Agreement and advocates tolerance, peace and trust building among these countries, as well as local and regional cooperation in the fields of culture, science and education. During her studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences, she became interested in comparative and international social policy. She is currently writing a research paper on the problem of segregation in educational systems in countries signatories of the Dayton Peace Agreement. She improved her skills and knowlage by attending a number of seminars, trainings and summer schools. Jelena is also a member of the organizational and marketing team of Serbian fantasy film festival. For three years she was a member of the PR team of the Faculty of Political Sciences and she also worked as a journalist for magazines „Škrip“ and „Politikolog.

Avni Dervishi

holds a Master Degree in European Affairs/Politics (studies in Sweden, Netherlands and Ireland). Due to his engagement for Global Peace, Democracy and Human Rights he has undertaken working visits to more than 87 countries in the world. He is an active promoter of International Affairs, European Integration, Western Balkans, Diaspora issues, Gender & Youth Empowerment and Anti Discrimination policies (Equal opportunities). He speaks 6 languages and can communicate in sign Language.

Votim Demiri

has been President of the Jewish Community of Kosovo since 2002. He has also been active in Kosovo’s industry and economy since 1976. During this time, he served as the General Director of a factory called “Printeks”. From 1986-1988, Mr. Demiri was a Minister in the government of the Province of Kosovo, where he focused on international economic relations. From 1988-1993, he was the Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of ex-Yugoslavia in Paris, France. Between 1992-2002, Mr. Demiri owned the private enterprise textile company “Mimoza”.

Sanja Dimitrijevic

has been in Kosovo since 2009. She works for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Human Rights and Communities Department Field Team. She graduated from the University of London International Programmes with a degree in Politics and International Relations. Interests also include religious and cultural heritage, religion, and security.

Ben Freeman

in 2012 founded From Yesterday For Tomorrow when he was just 25 years old. He has been working in informal, anti-prejudice education for over 10 years, with particular focus on the Holocaust. During his Masters degree in Political Science at the University of Glasgow, he worked for a national Jewish charity as a youth worker where he honed his skills in leadership and the creation of educational resources. He has led several trips to Poland, educating young people at the sites of the Nazi’s worst crimes. Since Ben founded From Yesterday For Tomorrow has been responsible for educating thousands of young people about the lessons of the Holocaust. Ben and From Yesterday For Tomorrow put particular emphasis on the actions of the bystanders and upstanders and encourages young people to take responsibility. Recently, Ben has been appointed to the role of Director of Education at the Hong Kong Holocaust and Tolerance Centre. He will continue directing FYFT from afar, ensuring it helps educators to teach their students about the true cost of prejudice and how to prevent it.

Bishop Dode Gjergji

is a Kosovar Prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Prizren. Dode Gjergji was born in Stubëll, Kosovo. From 2000 to 2005 he was the Apostolic Administrator of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sapë in Albania and in 2005 he became its Bishop. In 2006 he was consecrated bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Prizren.

Ambassador Ufuk Gokcen

Ambassador Ufuk Gokcen is the Permanent Observer of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to the United Nations since April 2010. He served as political adviser to the OIC Secretary General from 2005 to 2010 at the OIC Headquarters in Jeddah. Previous to that, he was based at the Turkish Embassies in Riyadh, Muscat and Damascus as well as at the Middle East Department of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In New York, in addition to providing assistance to the coordination among the OIC Member States at the United Nations, and engagement with the UN agencies, he is actively supportive of the civil society organizations. He also acts as focal point of the OIC General Secretariat to the State Department.

Through his op-eds at Huffingtonpost and engagement with the civil society, he aims at contributing to efforts for promoting freedom of religion, freedom of speech, tolerance and respect, as well as role of youth and women in peacebuilding through supporting efforts such as the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers and his initiative, Reconciliation and Coexsistence Support Initiative.

Enisa M.Gjokaj

Enisa M.Gjokaj is a resident in Montenegro and she is International consultant Unity in Diversity - World Civil Society Inclusive assembly of civil society organizations working together at the Country, Continental and Global levels and in collaboration with the UN Alliance of Civilizations - its mission, programs and partners. She is a member of the board of International Women’s Club in Montenegro.

Don Lush Gjergji

Don Lush Gjergji is catholic priest of Albanian Apostolic Administration of Prizren (Kosovo). He is born on March 21, 1949 in Stubell e Eperme. Don Lush Gjergji finished his first year of philosophy in Split, Croatia (1967-1968). While, the other years and the master degree he finished in Rome in Pontifical University Urbaniana (1968-1973). Parallel, at the State University of Rome “La Sapienza” has studied psychology and a PhD in 1975. He published 60 titles of different characters, psychological and social character, catechetical, monographic, spirituality, in particular 15 books on the life, work and spirituality of Mother Teresa.

Don Lush Gjergji writes in Albanian, Croatian, and Italian.

Victor Grezes

Born in Vichy-France, Victor Grezes travelled abroad for the first time when he was 16. He spent one year in South Africa thanks to the Rotary Club’s exchange program, where he was trained to manage humanitarian projects.

After his one-year experience in Africa, Victor seized the opportunity to represent French high school and college students in the main EU organizations, and all across Europe. In the process, this young man saw how crosscultural issues are a major component of international exchanges and conflicts. In 2011, Victor joined ‘Coexister’ (the French interfaith youth movement) and participated in 2013/2014 in the InterFaith Tour project (a one year travel around the world to encounter and monitor interfaith initiatives – along with a team of 4 other youngsters from different faith - interfaithtour.com). Victor is definitely an open traveller, for he wants to discover the world, to explore new cultures and to get rid of what he calls ‘the France-centered trap’. Today, Victor is 23 years old and shares his time between his studies in International Affairs at Sorbonne University in Paris, and his position as Development Manager of Coexister.

Shidartho Goushami

is a passionate social activist from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Shidartho works as a policy analyst for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Dhaka, and is a Youth Advisor of the United Nations Youth Advisory Panel of Bangladesh. Siddhartho is a motivated, visionary, and a passionate person. He volunteered for community development for more than 7 years and contributed as a youth leader at both national and international levels.

Shidartho has already established himself as one the pioneers of the youth movements for social change in Bangladesh. He has previously served in organizing committees and boards of Action Aid Bangladesh, Democratic Budget Movement, United Nations Youth and Student Association Bangladesh, Dhaka University Model UN Association, Dhaka University Film Society, Dhaka University Photographic Society, Social Business Youth Network, Naripokkho (Voluntary organization works for Women Rights) and Center for Human Rights Study.

Shejh Xhemajli Haxhimustafa

was born in 1961 in Gjakova, he is an architect and a candidate for Ph.D. in T.U.Wien, Austria, speaks German and English. He was introduced to a spiritual path since childhood, initiated in the Tarikat in 1982 and promoted to Dervish in 1985. After that he worked as Nakib in Kaderi Tekke Zinxhirli branch in Gjakova. In 2004 he was inaugurated Shejh by Shejh Abdylkader Horosani from Prizren and holds the Post of “Teqja e Shejh Xhaferisadik Haxhimustafës” in Gjakova. Worships and guidance of the illuminated Kaderi Tarikat are performed by Shejh Xhemajli in the Tekke which is located in Str.”Mithat Frasheri” 155 in Gjakova. Shejh Xhemajliu is one of 4 Representatives of Union of Kosova Tarikats.

Harold Hyman

is a Franco-American journalist, based in Paris. Educated at the Lycée Français de New York, Columbia University B.A. in Comparative Literature, and M.A. Université de Montréal (Canada) in Modern History. He has been a professional journalist since 1988, in Paris. He was a factchecker at Reader’s Digest, and has worked in French broadcast media: Radio France International, Radio Classique (where he specialized in East Asia), and now BFMTV (France’s largest all-news channel, where he is the geopolitical commentator). He has recently published a book, Géopolitiquement correct & incorrect, a personal essay about geopolitical issues; he posts on a blog co-founded with Antoine Colonna, called décalage-diplo.fr (translatable as Diplomatic lag); and he teaches geopolitics at Université Paris 13.

Salem Haboush

grew up in the town of Jadu in Nafusa Mountain in Libya. He got a Master of Science (MSc) in Information Technology at Bournemouth University with skills in website design although his real interest lies in photography, video and film-making. He produced short films and created websites about Amazigh (Berber) culture and the Libyan revolution. He is developing a collection of images and short film about the people and culture of Amazigh, and particularly the people of the town of Jadu.

He was involved in volunteering, preserving Amazigh Berber history and culture, working on how they can have a peaceful and harmonious society by making peace and respect among people of different faiths and religions as well as people of different races. He believes that it is always possible to live at peace and be friends with everyone no matter what language, culture or religion instead it is a matter of respect.

Agathe Hamel

Agathe Hamel, 23, studies international relations in Paris.

She is in charge of the ‘pole sensibilisation’ at Coexister.

Of her work she says ”We go to schools in order to discuss interreligious issues with the young generation via prejudices deconstruction workshops. All these interventions share the common aim of raising awareness of the urgency of an inter-cultural society that respects diversity.”

Prof. Dr. Xhabir Hamiti

Prof. Dr. Xhabir Hamiti is an analyst and opinionist of Islamic Studies, mentor of many scientific conferences in the local and international level, author of many published books and interpreter of many others in the field of culture and Islamic Studies in general. In the Albanian lands and beyond, Hamiti is known as a researcher and active intellectual who calls upon civic harmony, peaceful coexistence and the willingness for tolerance, regardless of religious backgrounds. Since 2003 he is a lecturer at the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Prishtine, whereas in the period between 2008-2013 he held the position as a Assembly President for the Islamic Community of Kosovo.

He is also a co-editor of the scientific Islamic magazine “ Hikma” which is published in the University of Osnabruck in Germany. Between 1997-2000 he had been an honorary member of the Council for the protection of the freedoms and human rights in Prishtine. From 2004 until today he is a lecturer in the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Prishtine. He has finished several courses of specialization and training’s in numerous locations, like the University of Oxford, the institute of ITD in Massachusetts, Caux-Switzerland, Sarajevo, Turkey etc. Aside from the mother tongue , he can fluently speak various other languages , such as: Arabic, English, German and Serbo-Croatian. He lives and works in Prishtine.

Besa Ismaili

Besa Ismaili serves as vice-dean to the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Prishtina. She is researching on ‘State Women and Religion in Kosovo’ at IUS. After completing her master degree in English Literature in 2003 in Jordan (Amman) she has been working as Language Instructor for English and lecturer of Colonialism Post-Colonialism and Feminism to university college students. She has served for more than 10 years with international missions in Kosovo as an interpreter/translator and author translator of several books. Besa is known for her activism in women issues and has been a prominent voice of Muslim women against discrimination and islamophobia. Since 2004 has lead the non-formal inter-religious women network of Kosovo and been active in fostering interfaith dialogue between women of faiths in Kosovo by implementing several projects in this field. She is lobbying for women empowerment within religious institutions and their greater institutional visibility and representation via Department for Women (Presidency of Islamic Community of Kosovo) and Kosovo women interfaith interaction through NGO ‘Kosovo Center for Dialogue’.

Radwa Salah Imam

Ms. Salah has a total of ten years of experience in both program coordination and interfaith dialogue. She graduated from Cairo University with a Bachelor in Political Sciences and works on her Master thesis in Christian Muslim Relations on religious freedom.

Having a wide network of contacts in her field, Ms. Salah coordinated a multitude of conferences and projects mainly for the Arab Group for Christian-Muslim Dialogue AGMCD (Regional group based in Lebanon) and Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue FDCD. Radwa is facilitating the Projects of FDCD in Syria with the religious, community leaders and the young civil society activists. She is the coordinator of the Syrian youth encounter, the role of religion on peacebuilding in Syria, the “Spoken Word” and the “Religious Freedom” projects.

For the AGMCD, Ms. Salah coordinates projects in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon, for example the “women in Dialogue” project. In 2013, AGMCD has assigned Ms. Salah to be the Project Coordinator for the Joint Project (Danish-Arab Interfaith Dialogue) with the Contact Group for Muslim Christian Leaders in Denmark.

Father Sava Janjic

During the bitter Kosovo war, Father Sava Janjic emerged as a tireless and innovative advocate for reconciliation.

By day, he was on the ground helping the Serbian members of his church and their Albanian neighbors. By night, he sought to even-handedly publicize the story of the conflict.

And when the opportunity arose, he strove to energize the international community for the cause of peace.

For years before the battles began, Father Sava lived with twenty-two fellow monks in the Decani Monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church. But as sectarian tensions rose between Albanian Muslims and Serbian Christians, Father Sava defied the stereotype of a cloistered monk. Fluent in English and technologically savvy, he sent out a daily stream of e-mails, supplying journalists and diplomats with their only reliable on-the- ground perspective of the conflict. Today, Father Sava is the Archdeacon of the Decani Monastery in Kosovo, and he also continues his presence in the peace and reconciliation process and community by utilizing technology, engaging in frequent Facebook updates and Tweets, commenting on cultural and religious issues in Kosovo and around the world. What distinguishes Father Sava, therefore, is not just his role as a peacemaker but how he appreciated the power of communication and used the religious voice in protecting people in conflict.

Atifete Jahjaga, President of the Republic of Kosovo

Atifete Jahjaga is the first woman President of the Republic of Kosovo, elected by the Parliament of Kosovo on April 7, 2011. President Jahjaga is the youngest female world leader to be elected, born on 20 April 1975, in Rashkoc – Gjakova. She is also the first female head of state in modern Balkans. Since March 2012 President Jahjaga is member of the Council of Women World Leaders (CWWL). Mrs. Jahjaga had been the Deputy General Director of the Police of Kosovo from February 2009. She had served as a police officer since the establishment of the Kosovo Police in early 2000, progressing to responsibilities at a regional level and then to General Headquarters. Early in her career, President Jahjaga served in different positions in the implementation of law and order, among others in the professional standards unit, human resources department, personnel and training department, administration of the Kosovo Police and border police. She completed her studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Prishtina, in 2000. In 2006-2007, she attended a postgraduate certification program in Police Management and Penal Law at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, Postgraduate Certification in Crime Science at the University of Virginia in the United States in 2007.President Jahjaga has also attended professional and research programs at the European Centre for Security Studies “George C. Marshall” Germany, at the National Academy of the FBI in the USA and at the Department of Justice in the USA.In addition to her native Albanian, President Jahjaga also speaks Serbian and English. She is married to Mr. Astrit Kuçi and lives in Prishtina.

Awards Doctor Honoris Causa, Durham University, UK - Leadership in Public Service Award, Clinton Global Initiative

Ema Komoni

is twenty-one years old and comes from Gjakova, Republic of Kosovo. She is currently studying in Faculty of Education in third year, in University of Prishtina. She saw International Interfaith Conference as a good opportunity to join because she is a hardworking, analytical, motivated and curious person, and her passion is discovering about the social, cultural, political, economic processes which plays a very important role to her future profession.

Fatmir Kuqi

Kosovo Albanian, has extensive experience in working with various NGOs in the field of human rights and good governance. He is currently working as Programme Assistant for the OSCE Regional Office PejĂŤ (Kosovo) with a focus on non-Albanian communities and is Focal Point for inter-faith projects.

Mary Kachavos

was born in the United States, but spent most of her life in the Netherlands. Her interest in interfaith dialogue is personal and academic. Inspired by her experiences with various religious traditions as a child (her parents are post-hippies who converted to Eastern Orthodoxy, but sent her to strict Protestant schools), she developed an interest in how people’s lives are shaped by religion, and how various religions relate to each other. Through her study of Sociology, Anthropology, and Religious Studies (BA Liberal Arts), cultural change (MSc Culture, Organization, and Management), and politics (MA International Studies) she learned to theorize different ways in which religion and violence can be related. At the moment, she is the president and founder of my master’s student association (the International Studies Student Association). She is also a youth lobbyist for PLAN NL, where she supports the Dutch lobby for women’s economic empowerment in developing countries. At the International Interfaith Conference she hopes to learn more about other people’s experiences with youth and interreligious dialogue. She is interested in working on the nexus between religion and politics from both a policy and a journalist perspective in the future.

Vlore Krasniqi

Born and raised in Kline, Kosovo, Vlore Krasniqi is currently a student at the University of Prishtina majoring in English language and literature. For the past year she has been a lead volunteer at American corner Prishtina. She has recently finished assisting for the English for Agriculture course. When she finally receives her bachelor’s degree from University of Prishtina the one thing that she would like to take away from this her being an achiever. The reason is because she is a very individualistic person who just chooses to do what is assigned to her each and every day. Also she admit that there are things that she could do better in, but because she acts on these ideas she most likely will increase her chances of meeting the day-to-day expectations people place on her.

Ulpiana Lama

has recently joined the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as a consultant at the Department for International Organizations. Mrs. Lama is a sociologist with rich background in the field of media and communication. In such quality she has held several important roles: former spokesperson to Kosovo Government, TV personality, book author, university lecturer and Public Relations consultant for various international institutions operating in Kosovo.

Ulpiana Lama has studied in Tirana, Paris and Washington D.C. She speaks English, French and Italian.

Greta Kaçinari

was born in Prizren, Kosovo. In 50-ties her family moved to Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina. There she completed her education. When married, she came back to Prishtina.

For 24 years, she worked with ‘Elena Gjika’ Primary School, initially as an English teacher and then as a School Director. After a short period of time, she worked with the Judicial Inspection Unit for almost 3 years as a Translator/ Interpreter (English, Serbian and Albanian L.) Then, she worked with the EULEX Department of Forensic Medicine for almost 3 years and due to her age she was retired. She worked with a Company as a proofreader of Constitutional Court of Kosovo documents. At the same time, she is the President of the NGO ‘Association of Radio Maria Kosovo’ as a volunteer, and she is also an active member of ULRIKA Group of elder persons operating with the Catholic Merciful Sisters of the Saint Cross, as a volunteer, too. Through all her lifetime she was involved in many educational, social, religious and inter-religious projects and have been awarded with some Acknowledgements.

Maqsoud Kruse

has served as the Executive Director of Hedayah, The International Center of Excellence of Countering Violent Extremism, since it was established in December 2012. Based in Abu Dhabi, Hedayah is an independent international “Think & Do Tank” focused on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) in all of its forms and manifestations by conducting dialogue, training and research. Hedayah was established by the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), a multilateral counterterrorism platform of thirty countries and international institutions. Under Kruse’s leadership, Hedayah has become a central global CVE clearinghouse with a leading convening power, bining together policymakers, researchers, practitioners, and the private sector to foster dialogue and collaboration. Kruse has guided the testing and implementation of innovative policies and programs to train and build CVE capacity, and developing on evidence based approach to research and analysis. Prior to joining Hedayah, Kruse held positions in corporate, government and military settings.

Kruse received a Master’s in Organizational Psychology from the University of Melbourne in Australia, where he also conducted training and research at the former International Conflict Resolution Center (ICRC).

Kruse serves as a Steering Board Member for the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), a public-private partnership dedicated to supporting local initiatives to counter violent extremism.

Sultan Kheir

got his master degree in Muslim Christian Dialogue, diploma in problem resolutions & BA in business systems.

He is former vice president of the National Organization for ending corruption. He is environmental and peace activist.

Sultan is Mayor board member in his town “Dier-Koubel” Mount of Lebanon. Mr.Kheir is Chief Editor at (richlebanon. com) which is an initiative for achieving development, democracy and transparency. He is founder of initiative “Action of Dialogue & Development for Life (ADD for Life) as a ccooperation circle with the international organization “United Religions Initiative” located in San Francisco. The initiative promotes awareness for peace building, human rights, and equal citizenship for religious diversity. He published numerous articles and studies on peace-building, religions and intercultural dialogue. Also he attended several local & international activities to participate in trainings and speeches. He owns intellectual property for a new global economy, called the “third economy,” that links between development and peace-building. Mr.Kheir selected in 2014 from the international human rights forum and invited to Morocco to give training for 3 hours about interfaith dialogue & peace building. He believes that interfaith/intercultural bridge building is needed to demolish stereotypes that shift between members of different communities, in order to avoid any negative future controversy. Role of religion and interreligious dialogue in building peace and social cohesion within and between our societies is what he believes. Volunteer for peace and interested in communion and friendship with other volunteers and activists.

Veton Kastrati

was born on 24.02.1991 in Damanek, Municipality of Malisheva. He got his degree in English from the University of Prsihtrina and work as English teacher. He works in primary School “Ibrahim Mazreku” in Malisheve. He participated in many international conferences and festivals. He represented Kosovo in international film festival in Munich- Germany with my movie called “The Dreamers” after that he participated in MUN Prishtina 2015 as a delegate of USA and has been in the debate between youth of Kosovo and Serbia dialogue round table in 2015 organized by the organization called Global Youth for Balkans. He also received an invitation by International Youth Media Summit in Belgrade to represent Kosovo as a young film maker with the movie called Kosovo’s Children Government in 27th of June where will be 58 countries participating. Recently he managed to organize one of the largest workshop for children in Malisheva where will be International Film Festival Prix Jeunesse international from Munich in corporation with WADADA TV from Netherlands.

Ishfaq Khan

was born in a village of Pakistan called Siren Valley, District Mansehra. His birthplace helped him to show later deep love for family, kids, nature and animals. As a child he loved stories told by his grandfather and it has profoundly affected his sense of observation and awakens love for life. He worked in Afghanistan with Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU) that has provided him to visit the areas affected from war and created a strong desire for resolution of problems by nonviolence and dialogue. He realized that war has greatly affected people of both countries which caused suffering, pain, insecurity and tragedies. One strange thing that he observed during last couple of years is common people’s appetite for life, for living. It’s strange but it is true, the more he and others had faced insecurity and war, more their appetite for love and peace has grown. He is very hopeful that spirit of love will triumph over hate and violence.

Pastor Driton Krasniqi

President of the Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church.

Driton Krasniqi was born in 1975 in Peja. He finished his elementary and secondary education in Pristina. In 1997 he graduated from the International Bible Training Institute in Great Britain. Upon his return to Kosovo, he returned to the Evangelical Church in Pristina where he served as Pastor between 1997 and 2007. In 2007 Pastor Krasniqi graduated studies in Theology with the University of Wales in Bangor. He defended his dissertation on the topic of History of Protestantism in Kosovo. Between 2007 and 2011 he served on the board of Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church until 2011 when he was elected the President. He holds ministerial credentials with Assemblies of God in Great Britain. He has also worked with a number of charity organizations. Since year 2000 he has given a significant contribution to inter faith dialogue representing the Kosovo Protestant church in a various conferences and forums. Pastor Krasniqi has also contributed his writings to national newspapers as well as international journals.

His latest international publication appeared in the volume “European Pentecostalism� where Mr. Krasniqi covered the Balkans.

Ron Kampeas

is JTA’s Washington bureau chief, responsible for coordinating coverage in the U.S. capital and analyzing political developments that affect the Jewish world. He comes to JTA from The Associated Press, where he worked for more than a decade in its bureaus in Jerusalem, New York, London and, most recently, Washington. He has reported from Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Bosnia and West Africa. While living in Israel, he also worked for the Jerusalem Post and several Jewish organizations.

Georges Labrèche

is a Systems Engineer whose work has revolved around extracting information and knowledge from data. He is the Founder and Chief Data Officer at Open Data Kosovo.

Georges has a bachelor degree in Software Engineering and a graduate degree in International Affairs so he’s always coming up with ideas that merge technology and governance. Lately, he’s been conducting research on digital diplomacy in Kosovo.

Zoe Large

A postgraduate student at University College London, where she is researching the ways in which survivors of collective trauma communicate their experience to younger generations. She is interested in the role of women in post-conflict reconstruction, and the part that museums, memorials and cultural heritage have to play in transitional justice. A former delegate for Remembering Srebrenica - the UK charitable initiative that promotes Srebrenica Memorial Day on 11th July and educates about the consequences of hate – Zoe is now a London Champion of the Charity, and is involved in creating memorial events to pay tribute to the victims of the genocide. She is involved in After Hiroshima, an oral history and performance project to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Zoe currently works as youth engagement coordinator at YoungMinds, the UK’s leading charity committed to improving the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

Ambassador Louise LaRocque

began working in the federal government as a French teacher, first in Ottawa and then at the Canadian High Commission in the United Kingdom. She next was Visa and Consular Officer at the Canadian Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Upon her return to Canada, Ms. LaRocque became professional training coordinator for the City of Ottawa.

Her subsequent overseas experiences brought her to Kuwait, where she taught at a private school, preparing young Palestinian and Kuwaiti women for employment with foreign companies. Once back in Ottawa, Ms. LaRocque joined Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada where she served as Deputy Director and, subsequently, as Director of the Centre for Management and Professional Development at the Canadian Foreign Service Institute. Ms. LaRocque was later named Executive Director of the International Trade Corporate Secretariat.

Most recently, she served as Deputy Inspector General and Director of mission inspections. She received the Commemorative Medal for the Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for outstanding contribution to excellence in public service. Ms. LaRocque is accredited as Ambassador of Canada to Croatia and Kosovo. Ms. LaRocque is a widow and has two sons.

Cassandra Lawrence

Cassandra Lawrence is a research associate at the World Faiths Development Dialogue housed at the Berkley Center at Georgetown University, analyzing the global interfaith movement. As a conflict analyst and freelance journalist she covers religious-spiritual expressions of violence, non-violence, interfaith engagement, and post-conflict development. As an interfaith community organizer, she recently co-lead a workshop on religious privilege in interfaith work and co-leads the D.C. interfaith network for young professionals. At the International Center for Religion Diplomacy, she participated in researching the global spread of Salafism and determining how to support conservative religious leaders in the effort to counter violent extremism. Lawrence also researched the spread of Islamophobia in the United States and proposed methods for engaging conservative American voices. She has a BA in Religious Studies from the University of British Columbia and a masters in comparative ethnic conflict from Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, concentrating on Islamic nonviolence in Palestine. Trained in mediation from Mediation Northern Ireland.

Joel Baitel Levy

his high school diploma December 2014 from Colegio Episcopal de Panama. He got enrolled to Florida State University, Panama in January 2015. He can speak four languages Spanish and English fluently, French intermediate and Japanese basic. Joel was chosen as representative of Jewish community in “Re-Evaluation of the Zionist Ideology of Netzer.” Joel Was active in different activities such as Leadership activities, Sports, ArtisticMusical and Community services since 2010 till 2014.

Petar Lukovic

Petar Lukovic, editor-in-chief of www.e-novine.com; as journalist and editor during his career, Lukovic was writing for almost all yugoslav newspapers and magazines – Duga, Džuboks, Mladost, Polet, Nedjelja, Slobodna Dalmacija, Politika, Politika ekspres, Vjesnik, Rock, Naša Borba, Feral Tribune, Mladina, Reporter. From 1991. to 1996, Lukovic was assistent editor-in-chief of magazine Vreme; from 1996. to 1999. editor-in-chief of magazine XZ; from 2008 till today, Lukovic is editor-in-chief of web portal www.enovine.com. Lukovic published tree books; in 2010. he was awarded „Honourable Citizen of Sarajevo“ for his support to the people of Sarajevo during fascist’s siege of the city.

Ian Linden

is a Senior Advisor at the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, formerly director of the Social Action Programme, Faiths Act, and an associate professor in the Study of Religion at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the University of London. He has published a number of books on religion in Africa and, recently, two major studies on faith and globalization, “A New Map of the World and Global Catholicism”. He was, for fifteen years, director of the Catholic Institute for International Relations and was awarded the CMG for work for human rights in 2000. He is a member of the Christian-Muslim Forum of the UK, worked in interfaith dialogue with Shi’a leaders in Iran and has acted as a DfID (UK government Department for International Development) consultant on matters of Faith and Development.

Duško Markovic

is the Deputy Prime Minister for political system, foreign and interior policy. He was born 6th July 1958, in Mojkovac, Montenegro. He got his bachelor degree from Faculty of Law, in Kragujevac. He used to work in his hometown as Secretary of Municipal than as President of Municipal of Mojkovac. Since 1991 he joined government structures of Montenegro first as a Secretary General of the Montenegrin Government, then as a Member of the Parliament of Montenegro, after which he became the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and head of the State Security Service. From 2005 to 2010 he served as the Director of the National Security Agency.

Rawaad Mahyub

is a graduate from York University (U.K) with a Bachelors and Masters Joint honours degree in Chemistry with Management in Industry. He has been working for an international NGO for over 10 years in the field of social development, particularly education, health, employment and capacity building, on a local level as well as International level. He has also worked on preventing violent extremism programs through education, mentoring and leadership projects for youth promoting change through civic activism. Recently he received an Ambassador for Peace award during his tour of South East Asia as part of the UN Harmony Week 2015. One of the programmes he is working on at present brings together 100 young people from around the world representing over 5 different faiths to promote harmony and coexistence through dialogue and local action. Outside of work and study he is also a director of a Community Interest Company that provides alternative education provision for young people at risk of dropping out of the education system. Rawaad is 35 years old, originally from Yemen, living in the United Kingdom, studying an Executive MBA and married with two kids.

Debra Mason

Debra Mason is among the leading scholars and trainers of how religion is portrayed in the media. She brings more than 30 years of professional and scholarly experience to her position as director of the Center on Religion and the Professions, an interdisciplinary center at the worldrenown Missouri School of Journalism working to improve the religious literacy of professionals so they can better serve a multi-faith public. In addition, she has produced the largest repository of religion resources for journalists, including ReligionStylebook.com and ReligionLink. com. Since 1997, she’s also directed Religion Newswriters Association, a professional association of journalists writing about religion in the mass media. She is publisher emeritus of Religion News Service (RNS), the world’s only non-sectarian wire service exclusively covering religion. As publisher, she led a multi-million dollar expansion that converted RNS from a for-profit to nonprofit business model, quadrupled monthly online traffic to more than 1 million unique visitors; created five local niche religion sites, garnered an unprecedented number of industry honors for RNS and oversaw the rebuilding of ReligionNews.com’s front and backend. She has played key roles in entrepreneurial efforts to create local, online and sustainable models of professional religion news, resources and training. Mason has received numerous grants, awards and other honors for her work.

Julia McStravog

Julia McStravog is a Philadelphia, PA native. She received her undergraduate degree in Theology and Religious Studies from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia.

After graduation, Julia did a year of volunteer service with Christian Appalachian Project as a Family Advocacy Caseworker in McCreary County, Kentucky. Upon completion of her volunteer year, Julia moved back to the Philadelphia area where she volunteered with the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as well as the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia. She has worked on and off for ten years in the kitchen at Pendle Hill, a Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation. It was there that Julia started to develop her theology of hospitality, which has been a constant thread throughout her work studying Interreligious Dialogue at Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago, IL. Julia believes hospitality and welcoming the stranger must be the starting point for dialogue and peacemaking.

She graduated from CTU in May 2014, and began working for the Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a program and research specialist in Washington, DC.

Rabbi Michael Melchior

is the founder and chairman of The Mosaica Center for Religious Conflict Transformation in the Middle East. He is an internationally renowned Jewish leader, thinker and activist and a leading advocate for social justice in Israel, interfaith dialogue and a voice for peaceful co-existence.

A descendant of seven generations of Danish Rabbis, Rabbi Melchior was born in Denmark, is an ordained Orthodox rabbi and immigrated to Israel in 1986. He serves as the Chief Rabbi of Norway and as rabbi of a young orthodox community in Jerusalem. He was elected to the Knesset in 1999 and served for 10 years in roles including: Minister for Social Affairs and World Jewry; Deputy Minister of Education & Culture; and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. In addition to founding Mosaica, which actively works to build a religious peace between leaders of all religions in the Middle East, Rabbi Melchior has founded The Yachad Council, which promotes open dialogue between different strands of Israeli society, fighting religious and political extremism; Meitarim, a network of over 50 pluralistic Jewish schools and communities in Israel; The Citizen’s Accord Forum, which promotes the building of bridges of coexistence and justice between Israeli Jews and Israeli-Arabs and he was the founding chairman of Birthright Israel.

David Michaels

is a Wexner Fellow/Davidson Scholar at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Mr. Michaels is a frequent participant in interreligious dialogue as a Jewish communal representative. In this capacity, he has been an officer of the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, co-chaired a national Protestant-Jewish dialogue in the United States, served as a member of the governing board of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultatifons, and met diverse senior faith leaders, among them Popes Francis and Benedict XVI. Featured by numerous print and broadcast media, he has served as a staff member at B’nai B’rith International and trained at the Foreign Ministry of Germany, Ha’aretz, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and the office of former President Clinton. He has also been a counselor for developmentally disabled young people. A graduate of Yeshiva University, he is a winner of the Young Professional Award of the Jewish Communal Service Association.

Emmanuel Michel

Emmanuel Michel is currently a student in History at Strasbourg University and Civic Service in the Strasbourg Coexister group, he will be Managing Director of Coexister, the French interfaith youth movement, starting on July. He is catholic and fond of interreligious dialogue and actions.

He believes in our fight in coexistence and living together among people from different faiths and convictions.

Martine Miller

is a mediator and conflict transformation specialist with over 20 years of engaged experience—with communities, government and UN agencies, regional bodies (i.e. EU, AU, ASEAN), and a range of inter/national non-governmental organizations coupled with academic institutions. Her work has engaged her directly in fluid war to post-war reconstruction and development contexts across over 75 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North and South America. While directly conducting/ advising on conflict assessments, facilitating dialogues, designing, implementing and monitoring peace mediation, –building processes to the evolution of networks and communities of practices across these fluid contexts, she works to consistently engage and build the capacity of religious peacemakers and broader civil society to ensure all processes include these vital stakeholders and evolve from specific local to national and regional contexts. At current, Ms. Miller is the Director of Asia and Gender for the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.

Among other engagements, she also assists as a senior lecturer at the Peace and Conflict Studies Center at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Ms. Miller maintains work bases in Thailand, Belgium, The Netherlands and the United States.

Ambassador Dimitris A. Moschopoulos

Ambassador Moschopoulos was born in Kalamata, Greece, where he received his primary and secondary education.

He has studied in Athens, Paris and New York, and holds a degree in Philology/Philosophy from the University of Athens and a doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Paris I, PanthÊon–Sorbonne (1979).

He entered the diplomatic service in 1983, and has served, in addition to the MFA Central Administration, in New York (Greek Mission to the UN), in Harare, Zimbabwe, in Stuttgart, Germany, in Odessa, Ukraine, and in Prishtina, Kosovo (from 2008 to 2014). He has participated, representing Greece, in various international conferences, such as the ICAO Assembly, the UNESCO General Conference, the UN General Assembly sessions, the CITES Conference of the Parties, the OSCE Human Dimension meetings, OSCE Annual Ministerial meetings, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly sessions, et al. During his service as head of the Greek Liaison Office in Prishtina, he was assigned by the EU, with the agreement of the Greek Government, the duties of EU Facilitator for the Protection of the Religious and Cultural Heritage of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo. He retired from the Greek Diplomatic Service in April 2014 and is now under contract with the UNDP to be Advisor to Kosovo on religious and cultural heritage.

Dr. Isa Mustafa

is currently the Prime Minister of Kosovo (since 2014).

He finished doctoral studies in economic sciences; he is a regular professor at the University of Prishtina and a regular member of the Kosovo Academy for Science and Arts.

Mr. Mustafa served as a Mayor of Prishtina for two mandates, during the period 2008 – 2013, whilst during the period 2006 – 2008 he was a senior adviser for economy to the President of Kosovo.

After the war he worked as a professor at the University of Prishtina, he was a deputy president of the Development Research Institute Riinvest, member of the University of Prishtina Board, member of the Central Bank Board and a member of the American University Board. He published a large number of scientific and professional papers in the country and in international magazines in the field of financial management, microeconomics, leadership in economy, fiscal policies and sectorial development policies.

In 1990 he was prosecuted by the Serbian authorities and in exile he was the Minister for Economy and Finance in the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, which operated in western states up to the liberation of the country in 1999.

In the role of the Finance Minister he organized a system to finance education and plural institutions of Kosovo, headed

by President Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, which were resisting the Serbian authorities. In November 2010 he was elected for the President of the Democratic League of Kosovo. In this capacity he provided special contribution to the reform and membership of the LDK to the family of European People’s Part, the EPP. On 9 December 2014 he was elected for the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, based on the governing coalition between the Democratic Party of Kosovo – PDK and the Democratic League of Kosovo - LDK.

Sir Geoffrey Nice

Sir Geoffrey Nice QC has practised as a barrister since 1971.

He worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia - the ICTY - between 1998 and 2006 and led the prosecution of Slobodan Miloťevic, former President of Serbia. Much of his work since has been connected to cases before the permanent International Criminal Court - Sudan, Kenya, Libya - or pro bono for victims groups - Iran, Burma, North Korea - whose cases cannot get to any international court. He works for several related NGO’s and lectures and commentates in the media in various countries on international war crimes issues.

He has been a part-time judge since 1984 sitting at the Old Bailey and has sat as judge in other jurisdictions, tribunals and inquiries. Between 2009 and 2012 he was Vice-Chair of the Bar Standards Board, the body that regulates barristers.

Jibrin Baba Ndace

Jibrin Baba Ndace is Assistant General Manager, Special Projects, (AGM SP) and Defense correspondent, Blueprint Newspapers. He used to work also as a journalist, PR Practitioner, public affairs commentator, media consultant and public speaker with over a decade post graduation experience. He graduated in 2002 with a degree in English, in Bayero University, Kano, (BUK). Jibrin taught communication skills at the Kaduna Polytechnic, before starting his career as a Client Service Officer with Bifocal Communications Limited, a public relations firm. His journalist career started with The Market Magazine, a business, policy and economy magazine which debuted in 2004. As a reporter, Jibrin did researches and written in different areas such as defense and security, education, and disaster management issues amongst others. He was member of Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), African Public Relations Association, (APRA) and Defense Correspondent Association. Jibrin also has featured on many radio and television programs in Nigeria, where national and international issues are discussed and solution are proffered for the teeming viewers. His contribution had been widely acclaimed and has worn him commendation from top government officials and the general public as “The Voice of the People�. Jibrin is also the Publicity Secretary of Community Intervention and Relief Initiative (COIRI) and Director, Membership and Mobilization, The International Emergency Management Society, (TIEMS) West Africa. Jibrin who was the only African Journalist that participated the inauguration of President Joko Widodo (Jokowo) and Vice President Jusuf Kalla and was also a speaker at the 5th WORLD PEACE FORUM in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Norbert Mappes-Niediek

was born in 1953. He started training as psychiatrically nurse and in 1980s to join journalism. First he worked as specialist for social security issues with a special focus in health system. Since 1991/92, he was monitoring South East Europe starting with post-Yugoslav wars of the nineties as a correspondent for various German, Austrian, Swiss and Dutch newspapers and still is covering all South East Europe. During 1993/94, he served as a political analyst in the staff of Mr. Yasushi Akashi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General. In 2004/05, he was a spokesman for Deutscher Bundestag. He used to travel extensively all over the region when he was living in Graz, Austria. Some of his six books on South Eastern Europe (Yugoslavia and Roma) such as „Balkan Mafia“ and „Ethnic Trap“ have been translated into Albanian, Serbian, Croatian, Polish, Czech, Romanian and Spanish. In nineties, he used to write mainly for Die Zeit, a Hamburg-based weekly. Then he turned to daily papers with Frankfurter Rundschau, being the best renowned.

Veton Nurkollari

born 1962, is photographer, producer and documentary film programmer based in Prizren, Kosovo. He is currently serving as Artistic Director of DokuFest, Kosovo’s largest and most important documentary and short film festival, which he co-founded in 2002 together with a group of like-minded friends. He is also initiator and main curator of DokuPhoto, an annual showcase of documentary photography that runs alongside film festival and where number of award winning photographers has exhibited already, including World Press Photo winners. Veton is active in the cultural scene of Kosovo through curating film series as well as writing about film. He is also coordinating an educational program of nurturing young film talents in Kosovo and the Balkans through “Film Factory” project.

Veton has served as jury member in many international film festivals, including DokLeipzig (the longest running documentary festival in Europe), IDFA, DocLisboa, DOK. fest München, Krakow Film Festival, Hamburg Short Film Festival, RIDM and Tui festival in Spain, among others.

Veton Nurkollari is a member of European Cultural Parliament and European Film Academy.

Shamshad Omar

Shamshad Omar began working at the BBC in Kabul where he worked as a Writer and Producer on a number of shows including Sehatwa Zindagy (Health and Life), Saday Shahr (City Voice, dealing with social issues in the cities). Shamshad moved to Cooperation for Peace and Unity (CPAU) in November 2010 where he began working as a Senior Communications Officer, overseeing the communications section of the program team, and as an Admin Manager gaining knowledge of how to run the logistics, and human resources of an NGO. Shamshad currently works in Communications with IRD as a Communication and Documentation Officer where he has a leading role in IRD’s projects, some of which include the informal rule of law project, women’s empowerment radio drama project, the formal and informal justice linkages project and peace building with developing materials, writing reports and conducting Monitoring and Evaluation using key USAID frameworks. He is a valuable member of the IRD team with a range of managerial and programrelated experience within IRD, CPAU and at BBC Kabul.

Shamshad Omar has a Masters in Conflict Transformation Studies.

Idriss Oufel

Idriss Oufel is an independent journalist and a blogger for online Moroccan magazines. He also works voluntarily for the SOUL OF EUROPE reporting from Morocco, North Africa, and about the Arab world in general. Idriss is also an artist specializing in acrylics. He gained a university degree in the English language at the University Ibn Zohr - Agadir, Morocco. He also has a diploma in personnel management (French language) in addition to certificates and training in other fields such as IT, blogging, the fine arts, attending national and international conferences. He currently resides in Agadir, Morocco where he freelances as a journalist.

Lule Potera -

part of Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church

Aleksandar Popov

established in 1998 the Center for Regionalism (Novi Sad, Serbia) . Under his management, this organization carried out several projects related with democratization and decentralization of Serbia. In this context, “CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF DECENTRALIZATION OF SERBIA AND AUTONOMY OF VOJVODINA” was an especially important project which had offered elements for the new Constitution of democratized and decentralized Serbia. Great deal of activities of the Center for Regionalism is related with establishment of regional cooperation and with normalization of relations in Dayton Triangle. In this context, Aleksandar Popov had initiated foundation of the “Igman Initiative” movement of NGOs for normalization of relations in the Dayton Triangle.

Significant part of activities of the Center is committed to the restoration of cooperation between NGOs from Kosovo and Serbia and to the joint engagement on normalization of conditions and interethnic relations in Kosovo and in the whole Region. In this framework, together with the NGO “Mother Theresa” from Kosovo and under the auspices of OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Center for Regionalism is conducting a project: “ALTERNATIVE CIVIL DIALOG”. As a director of the Center for Regionalism, he has published numerous articles related to issues of democratization and decentralization in Serbia.

Dor Pazuelo

is 28 years old, in his third and last year of BA studies in the departments of Political Science and Latin-American Studies in The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and due to start MA studies in the following year. Mr. Pazuelo is born and raised in Jerusalem, where he has been inspired by its multicultural society and built his own personal attributes of social/individual beliefs. Since his early days of childhood, cultural exchange was a significant aspect of his life, although he merely knew it will be as meaningful as it is today. When he grew older, he participated in youth exchanges and worked as a youth leader, and this international exposure became a significant factor in his personal development as an individual within a society.

Brian Pellot

Brian Pellot is director of global strategy and religious freedom editor at Religion News Service (RNS), a Washington-based newswire and NGO. Before joining RNS, Brian was digital policy advisor at Index on Censorship in London and online editor at Free Speech Debate in Oxford, UK. He speaks regularly about religious freedom, freedom of expression and internet rights. Brian is currently based in London.

Peter Pelz

born 1945 in Oxford UK, is a writer and artist and has been co-director of the Soul of Europe since 1999. Together with Donald Reeves he has worked on peace building and mediation projects across Europe, particularly in the Balkans. His role as rapporteur led to the writing and publishing several books on the work of the Soul of Europe including A Tender Bridge and The White house – From Fear to a Handshake. The work of the Soul of Europe focuses on improving relations between Muslims and nonMuslims in Europe.

Vjollca Racaj

was born in Peja, Kosovo and lived there for 14 years. From 1992 to 2010 she grew up in Germany, where she finished her education. She studied Health Communication in the University of Bielefeld. In 2010 she came back to her country and since five years she works in the social sector with the minorities. To serve the community is important to her because it provides her with eye-opening experiences while benefitting many people. Knowing that a great impact can be made on others lives, through simple action, makes the work worthwhile. Since January 2014 she is working for the Foundation “House of Hope” in Prishtina. House of Hope is established by the Protestant Evangelical Church “Fellowship of the Lord’s People” in Prishtina.

Ejup Ramadani

Chief of Cabinet of the Grand Mufti of Kosovo.

Mr. Ramadani was born in 1952.After finishing high school in Prishtina, he moved to Cairo, Egypt where he furthered his studies and received his Bachelors degree in Arabic and English Philology in1979. After his graduation he worked as an interpreter for Ramiz Sadiku, a civil engineering company in Libya for a few years then returned back to his home country to work in the Provincial Bureau for Employment where he spent a majority of his working career. In 1992, he began his teaching career at the University of Prishtina where he taught Oriental Language Studies. From 1994 until2001 he taught English at a secondary school, Alaudin Medresa, in Prishtina. While teaching, he took part in a British Council English language-training program in Hungary.

In 2001, he participated in the Homby International Summer School program “The Four Skills in Language Teaching.�The following year, Ejup went on the three-week International Visitors Program in the United States, which included the TESOL Conference in Maryland. At the end of 2002, he accepted a British Council offer to participate in a Distance-Learning program that focused on teaching English as a foreign language with the British Council in Ankara, Turkey. In November 2003, he was appointed as the Chief of Cabinet of Grand Mufti of Kosovo.

Paolo Rago

Paolo Rago was born in Rome in 1958. He has lived in Albania for twenty years, where he has worked as coordinator of cooperation programs of the General Department of Italian Cooperation, UNICEF, the World Bank, and other International Organizations. In his capacity of reserve Captain of Italian Army, Paolo Rago served in KFOR’s Office for Civilian- Military Cooperation (CIMIC).

He has served as a press officer of the Italian Embassy in Tirana and also with Italian Culture Institute in Tirana, and was responsible for the promulgation of the Italian language. He has also covered the position of Head of Department of Italian at the Catholic University “Our Lady of Good Counsel (Zonja e Këshillit të Mirë)” in Tirana and currently is Board member of “Marin Barleti” University. He has overseen the translation into Albanian of major works of Italian writers and is also an author of Italian grammar texts, articles and essays on Albania.

Burim Ramadani

Mr. Ramadani is a lecturer of “National Security” and “Democratic Governance and Oversight of Security Sector” at ISPE College in Prishtina. He was Member of Parliament (2011-2014) and Member of Committee for Oversight on Kosovo Intelligence Agency. Mr. Ramadani holds an MA Degree on Political Science from University of Prishtina. He has completed BA on Political Science, and BA on Journalism. He is a graduate from George C. Marshall – European Center for Security Studies, Germany.

Participated in IVLP “Data Privacy and Protection in the United States”, 2014. Mr. Ramadani worked as journalist in Zeri during 2004-2007. Since 2007 he joined government structures as Adviser in Ministry of Internal Affairs, Member of Parliament of Kosovo and in AAK party. Mr. Ramadani’s native language is Albanian, he also speaks fluently English, and is good in Serbian.

Ilya Razumovski

was born 7th of July 1985, in Lithuania. He got his degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Ben Gurion University. He joined Holon Institute of Technology in 2014 for his Master degree in Electrical Engineering. Parallel with master degree he is part of The Jewish Agency which is a group facilitation course. Mr. Razumovski is active in many volunteering/community services since 2002.

Reverend Donald Reeves

is an Anglican priest. A former Rector of St James Piccadilly, he established the Soul of Europe with Peter Pelz in 2000.

He says: ‘We are committed to reconciliation between Muslims, Jews and Christians. We have been working in Bosnia and Kosovo, and among other projects instigated the rebuilding of the Ferhadija Mosque in Banja Luka as a sign of Muslim Christian collaboration.’ He was awarded an MBE for his peace-building work in the Balkans. He is writing a book on the ABC of peace building and interreligious dialogue. His latest book is an autobiography: Memoirs of a Very Dangerous Man. He is a musician, an organist

Stefania Sabo

Currently part of the European Network of Interfaith Leaders, Stefania see herself as a young peace builder and an Interfaith youth leader. She has a BA in Political Science and a MA in International Development. The topic she enjoys the most is peace, education development and youth participation. In Romania, she worked four years for the Romanian Peace Institute (www,patrir.ro) and was involved in different activities such as coordinating educational programs on topics such as the millennium development goals, human rights, multiculturalism.

Dr. Tina Kempin Reuter

is the Director of the Reiff Center for Human Rights and Conflict Resolution and Associate Professor of International Relations and Comparative Politics in the Department of Government at Christopher Newport University. Dr. Kempin Reuter’s research focuses on human rights and human rights violations, ethnic conflict and genocide studies, and conflict and conflict management with a focus on Europe and the Middle East. She holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and International Law and an M.A. in Contemporary History, Economics, and International Law from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. She was formerly associated with the Solomon Asch Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict, University of Pennsylvania/Bryn Mawr College, the Institute of Public International Law at the University of Zurich and the Center for Security Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. She is the author of numerous publications in her field and has been awarded multiple prizes and grants to expand her research and teaching.

Seán Rose

is an experienced and award-winning interfaith educator, facilitator, and trainer. He has worked on a breadth of cross-cultural and interfaith programs in Europe and North America, including as Director of Training and Outreach for Project Interfaith. He currently runs education programming for a museum in California, USA, and facilitates high school interfaith dialogue through the Tony Blair Faith Foundation’s Face to Faith program.

Seán was an inaugural Faiths Act Fellow, a program of the Interfaith Youth Core and Tony Blair Faith Foundation, and his work was recognized with a local community award. He engaged hundreds of young adults through service projects and workshops, and presented at the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Australia; he is presenting at this year’s Parliament in the USA. As Schools Officer and Training Associate at 3FF (formerly Three Faiths Forum), Seán delivered bespoke training in Europe and the USA, and facilitated United Nations award-winning education workshops in high schools, reaching 5,000+ students. Seán has experience facilitating online programs, including an e-learning dialogue program connecting students in 30 countries through video-conferencing, and a university program engaging students from different countries, cultures, and ideologies in dialogue and shared action.

He is passionate about education, building religious and cultural literacy, and social justice.

Yasser Salimi

Yasser Salimi was born in Tehran, Iran. He is MA candidate in International Relations and his academic research interests are: Religion and International Relations, Intercultural Relations, Youth and Sustainability. He is also MENA Fellow of American Political Science Association for 2014 and currently focusing his researches on west and Islamic world relations. What encouraged him to study international relations were social activities on international level. He was elected as Board Member of Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (Affiliated to Organization of Islamic Cooperation) in 2004 and re-elected in 2014 as Vice President. In perusing his international duties he became interested in finding ways to make peace and harmony among West and Islamic World. He had written several articles on intercultural dialogue and peace and attended different international events on this issue.

He received Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, has worked in the private sector and now works in Press TV, an international news network based in Iran.

Shejh Muharrem Shehu

is born in 1978 in Gjakova, he is married and has two children. He has finished technical school and works as a painter of Islamic calligraphy. He has entered the path of spiritual enlightenment in 1996 and was inaugurated Shejh

by Shejh Ismeti Nakshiler in 2011. He serves in the Tekke of “Shejh Uka” in Gjakova. Shejh Muharrem is a member of “Council of the Union of Kosovo Tarikats”.

Andreas Sandre

Andreas Sandre is a Press and Public Affairs Officer at the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC. He is the author of Digital Diplomacy: Conversations on Innovation in Foreign Policy (Rowman & Littlefield, January 2015) and of Twitter for Diplomats (February 2013) and has contributed articles on foreign policy and digital diplomacy to numerous specialized publications, including the DiploFoundation, the Global Policy Journal, and BigThink.

Marija Savic

from Montenegro, is a graduate from the Faculty of Law specializing in the field of Political Science and Constitutional Law. She has been active in programs related to youth politics, human rights, and leadership and has taken part in many volunteer actions in Montenegro and abroad. She has received several awards for her dedication to education and skills development. She has studied at Masaryk University, Czech Republic, as a holder of the CEEPUS scholarship, Warsaw University, Poland as a holder of CEEPUS scholarship and University of Ljubljana, Slovenia as a holder of BASILEUS scholarship She currently works in the NGO Women`s Rights Center where she provides Legal support for the victims of domestic violence and helps improve the status of women in Montenegro in terms of their personal integrity, economic advancement and political representation.

Lauren Schreiber

is the outreach & events manager at the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (www.cair.com), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. At the national headquarters in Washington, D.C., she has taken the lead on developing CAIR’s youth programming and has delivered workshops to over 2,500 youth since 2013. Through her efforts, CAIR has expanded community outreach, increased event offerings, reformatted their interactive workshop series, and relaunched an interfaith-based service campaign to increase the visibility of Muslims doing community service for the greater good.She serves on the boards of the Islamic Research & Humanitarian Center of America (www. irhsca.com) and Project Reach, a non-profit that mentors inner-city Muslim youth (www.dcprojectreach.org). As a singer/songwriter herself, Lauren supports the creation of socially responsible art in the Muslim community and beyond. In addition to hosting the region’s first all-women open mic, she and her husband facilitate workshops, organizes events, encourages community dialogue around creative expression, and empowers individuals to produce and consume art that lines up with their values. She is working on her third album and her first documentary film highlighting the stories of American Muslim women involved in the arts.

Mr. Stephen Suleyman Schwartz

is Executive Director of the Center for Islamic Pluralism in Washington, DC. Mr. Schwartz is also the author of The Other Islam: Sufism and the Road to Global Harmony (Doubleday, 2008). In 2002, he published the bestselling The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role In Terrorism (Doubleday). He is also author of Sarajevo Rose: A Balkan Jewish Notebook, published

by The Bosnian Institute and Saqi Books in cooperation with Routledge Macmillan. He was born in 1948, and has pursued a long literary and journalistic career. He was a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle for 10 years and was secretary of the Northern California Newspaper Guild, a trade union branch. In 2004-06 he was institutional historian of the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.

He has published four books in Albanian, including translations of his books on Islam.

Ambereen Shaffie

Ambereen Shaffie is an environmental attorney based in Washington, D.C. She holds both a J.D. from the University of Kansas, and an LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from the American University in Cairo. She currently serves as the Executive Director of a global education nonprofit in addition to maintaining her environmental law practice. She is also active in local bar associations. Her pro bono work includes advocating for women in abusive relationships, as well as general family law matters.

Sarah Snyder

is a theologian at the University of Cambridge, working with the Cambridge Interfaith Programme. She directs the Cambridge Summer School, a 3-week residential for faith leaders from international conflict zones, and is an experienced mediator for communities in conflict. She is the founding Director of a new international centre of peace and reconciliation, the Rose Castle Foundation, working towards reconciliation within and between faith communities, and promoting sustainable stewardship of the environment. She chairs a Cambridge-based bible think tank called the Jubilee Centre, and is Vice-chair of CSW, a religious liberty organization supporting persecuted religious minorities. Sarah originally studied Anthropology at Cambridge and worked with nomadic groups in Kenya (the Maasai) and the Sahara desert (the Tuareg). She joined BBC Television as a documentary producer, before retraining in theology, specialising in Muslim-Christian relations. She has worked with Professor David Ford at the Cambridge Interfaith Programme for the past 12 years, and co-ordinates an international programme of Scriptural Reasoning. This brings together Jews, Christians, Muslims and other communities with sacred text traditions, to articulate and understand their differences (rather than to seek common ground). As a faith-based mediator, Sarah works with conflicted communities to overcome suspicion and fear and discover a better quality of disagreement – finding ways to live and work together despite deep-rooted differences, for the sake of the wider community.

Gent Salihu

is the Rule of Law and Governance Advisor to Kosovo’s Minister of Justice. Previously, Salihu supported the public diplomacy portfolio of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the British Council. He managed Interfaith Kosovo activities, and led a report that gave structure to Kosovo’s nascent public diplomacy portfolio of initiatives delivered during the government’s previous mandate. Salihu also served the President of Kosovo as an advisor to support the establishment of an anti-corruption council overseeing institutional processes and guaranteeing a commitment to the rule of law. Salihu graduated magna cum laude in Philosophy and Government from Dartmouth College, and holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford. Prior to his return to Kosovo, Salihu worked out of the London office of McKinsey and Company.

Shejh Lulzim Shehu

is born in Zagreb in 1957 in a family which cultivates Sufism for 6 generations. He has finished his master studies in electronics in 1981 and has successfully worked in his profession until 1999. Since the war he is a representative of an international humanitarian organization. He lives in Prishtina, married; has 3 children and 6 grandchildren. He was initiated in Tarikat in 2005 and was inaugurated Shejh in 2008. His two sons and brother Dervish Ahmed are helping him keep the essence of Sufi tradition pulsating in two tekkes, the one in Mitrovica and the New Halveti Tekke in Prishtina. He is an activist in the field of preserving the cultural and spiritual traditions of Sufism.

Shejh Lulzim is a Contact Person and a Representative of the Union of Kosovo Tarikats.

Shejh Mehmet Shehu

Shejh Mehmet Shehu was born in 1952 in Gjakova. He is a Graduated Economist since 1976. He has worked in the Economic Chamber of Kosovo and in leading position of Gjakova’s companies. Currently he is an internal auditor of a public enterprise. He follows the Sufi path, which is a family tradition, since 1990. He was inaugurated Shejh in 2004. Together with his brother Shejh Bedrush Shehu, they lead the spiritual life of Kaderi Tarikat Rrezaki brach in Gjakova. Shejh Mehmet Shehu is a representative in “Council of the Union of Kosova Tarikats”, with expertise in economic issues.

Ahmet Shala

Mr. Shala was born 27th of March 1961 in Akrashtic, near Prishtine, Republic of Kosovo. Mr. Shala, just finished (December 2014) his mandate being and Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to Japan and currently is a Visiting Professor at James Madison University, Christopher Newport News University (CNU) and Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), Virginia, US. Prior to becoming the Ambassador of Kosovo to Japan, Mr. Shala served as Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Kosovo from 2008-2011, the first Minister of Economy and Finance of the independent country of Kosovo. Mr. Shala worked almost 10 years with European Union in Kosovo 1999-2008. From 2002-2008 he served as Deputy Managing Director, of the “Kosovo Trust Agency”.

He graduated with a bachelor degree in Business Administration in 1985 from University of Prishtina. Mr. Shala finished his Master’s studies in “Business decision making under uncertainty”. At Prishtina University in 1995, Mr. Shala presented his PhD thesis in Strategic Development Alternatives - “The Integral Economic Development of Albanian territories in Balkans – a Quantitative Approach”. Mr. Ahmet Shala is married and has four kids.

Shejh Ruzhdi Shehu

Shejh Ruzhdi Shehu was born in 1954 in Gjakova, he has finished the high school of commercial affairs in Peja.

He entered on the Sufi path in 1972 and was inaugurated Shejh in 1985 being the 13th generation of Shejhs in the Tekke of Shejh Emini. This Tekke dates from 1730 and is a Cultural Monument of Kosovo. From 1985 and on, Shejh Ruzhdi was an honoured member of BRDIA in the former Yugoslavia and a deputy of Meshajih’s association associated to BRDIA. As a social activist he was in initiator of reconciliation process concerning “blood retribution” among Albanians in Kosovo and an organizer for the signing of document for Democracy against Violence (1989 – 1990). During 1993 until 1994 Shejh Ruzhdi was prosecuted and imprisoned for organizing Headquarter of Republic of Kosovo Army. Today he lives and serves in Shejh Emini’s Tekke “Teqja e Babës Tebdil”, with a large family. Shejh Ruzhdi is a distinguished member of “Council of the Union of Kosova Tarikats”.

Shejh Muharrem Shehu

is born in 1978 in Gjakova, he is married and has two children. He has finished technical school and works as a painter of Islamic calligraphy. He has entered the path of spiritual enlightenment in 1996 and was inaugurated Shejh

by Shejh Ismeti Nakshiler in 2011. He serves in the Tekke of “Shejh Uka” in Gjakova. Shejh Muharrem is a member of “Council of the Union of Kosovo Tarikats”.

Shejh Mehdi Shehu

Shejh Mehdi Shehu is born in 1974 in Rahovec where he finished high school; he has finished also Medresah in Prizren. The first lessons in Sufism he has gained from his father Shejh Baki who initiated him on spiritual path in 1992. He was inaugurated Shejh in 2004 from Haxhi Shejh Maz’hari, head of the Rifai Tekke in Gjakova. Shejh Mehdiu serves in the Tekke of Haxhi Shejh Iljazi in Rahovec which is founded in 1902. The Tekke and Tomb are located in the street of Shejh Laza in Gradine, Rahovec. The Tekke has its semahane, mejdan room, kahfeoxhak, guest room and its library. Shejh Mehdi is a member of “Council of the Union of Kosovo Tarikats”.

Shejh Hysein Shishko

Shejh Hysein Shishko is born in 1943 in Prizren in a family with a Sufi tradition, he was initiated in the Sufi path by honoured Shejh Shaban. He was inaugurated on Post by Shejh Kemal Shenjyz Efendia from Istanbul in 1994. In the same year he built the New Tekke. Shejh Hysein maintains and keeps alive the spirit of the Sinani order, which has started with Shejh Kutub Musa Efendiu , by his enthusiastic work as a guide. The traditional ritual of Tarikat is held every Tuesday in Sinani Tekke in Prizren. Shejh Hysein Shishko is a member of “Council of the Union of Kosovo Tarikats”.

Anthony Silkoff

is 28, lives in London, and has a Master’s degree in Human Rights and International Relations. His career to date has focused on human rights activism and interfaith action.

Anthony’s interest in interfaith work began at university, where he initiated a project to bring the Jewish and Muslim societies together for prayer and meals. In 2011, he was selected as Faiths Act Fellow for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, where he managed the Museum of Motherhood to raise awareness, and raise funds, to combat maternal mortality in Bangladesh. For the past three years, Anthony has worked in Public Affairs and Campaigns for a variety of NGOs, including the OneVoice Movement and Save the Children. He recently returned from India, where he worked on a labour exploitation policy project for Nazdeek, a small human rights NGO.

Emily Spiegel

Emily Spiegel specializes in the communication of identity through cultural and linguistic artifacts. She holds a MA in Visual Culture from New York University and a BA in Art History from University of Pennsylvania. Prior to beginning college, Emily was president of the Northern Region East Chapter of the B’nai B’rith youth organization located in Washington, D. C. Emily focused her Master’s thesis studies on the ways in which cultural shifts may be predicted through stylistic trends in language associated with fashion. Emily frequently travels internationally for business and pleasure. She is currently a marketing executive for the trend forecasting firm, WGSN.

Brad Seligmann

Brad Seligmann currently serves as the chair of the Young Leadership Council (YLC), the youth branch of the International Council of Christians & Jews (ICCJ). The YLC brings young Jews, Christians, and Muslims together in dialogue as a part of the ICCJ’s overall efforts to promote Jewish-Christian dialogue and provide models for wider interfaith relations. Brad is also a graduate student in the field of Interreligious Studies at the Jesuit School of Theology, part of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He completed his BA from Xavier University in the Philosophy, Politics, & the Public honors program. Prior to moving to California, Brad was the coordinator for an interfaith service and dialogue program at the University of Michigan. He lives on the campus of Santa Clara University with his wife Sara and their dog Bess.

Rabbi Joshua Stanton

Rabbi Joshua Stanton feels blessed to serve as an Assistant Rabbi at Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Short Hills, New Jersey. He likewise is a co-founder of Tribe, a group for Jewish Millennials in New York, and serves as one of the representatives from the Central Conference of American Rabbis to the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, which liaises with the Vatican and other international religious bodies.

Previously, Josh served as Associate Director of the Center for Global Judaism at Hebrew College and Director of Communications for the Coexist Foundation. He was a Founding co-Editor of the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, as well as O.N. Scripture -- The Torah, a weekly online Torah commentary featured on the Huffington Post and the Ethical Jam column in the Times of Israel.

In addition, Rabbi Stanton has been the recipient of numerous leadership awards, including the Bridge-Builders Leadership Award from the Interfaith Youth Core, the Associates of Jewish Homes and Services for the Aging’s Annette W. and Herbert H. Lichterman Outstanding Programming Award, the Volunteer Hero Award of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, the W. MacLean Johnson Fellowship for Action, the Wiener Education Fellowship, and the Hyman P. Moldover Scholarship for Jewish Communal Service. Rabbi Stanton has had articles and interviews featured in the Washington Post, Religious Education, German National Radio, Swedish National Radio, and public radio’s Interfaith Voices.

Srdjan Sentic

Mr Sentic holds an M.A. in International Security Studies (Foreign Policy and Security) from the Universität der Bundeswehr München in cooperation with the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, GarmischPartenkirchen, Germany. In 2001, Mr Sentic began his professional career working with the UN-Habitat’s Housing and Property Directorate. In his capacity of Regional Officer in Kosovo, he quickly become an acting Head of Office in Southern Serbia and Macedonia and also worked as Legal Officer. Working with international organizations for a decade under United Nations umbrella in Kosovo and the Region, such as UNMIK, OSCE, ICRC and UNDP, he gained strong managerial and diplomatic skills. Before joining the Government of Kosovo, he served as the Senior Adviser on Returns to Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Kosovo. He was involved in transferring and building the capacities of the Government of Kosovo and contributed to establishment of dialogue between countries in the region. Since 2008 till 2011 he worked as Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister of Kosovo and Director of the Prime Minister’s Office for Community Affairs. In July 2011 starts working as Deputy Chief of Mission of Kosovo to Brussels till May 2014. In August 2014 started and is still working in Kosovo’s Charge d’affaires in Podgorica, Montenegro.

Kerim Somun

is the coordinator for Humanity in Action Bosnia and Herzegovina on the project „Historija, Istorija, Povijest – Lessons for Today“ and coordinator for the project Model International Criminal Court Western Balkans. In the past seven years he worked for several national and international organizations such as Educational Center for Human rights and Democracy, PEP International, Youth Advisory Panel of UNFPA, International Youth Movement, GNRC Bosnia and Herzegovina and also he was a national coordinator of many volunteer networks in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to these engagements, he is actively involved as an external collaborator and trainer on the implementation of different programs and projects in several national and international organizations. He’s trainer skills are specialy focused on decision-making process, peace-bulding, tolerance and youth leadership.

He participated (as participants, trainer and lecturer) in more then ninety different trainings, seminars, conferences and professional exchange programs, which improved and fullfil his professional and personal skills and progress, profiling him as a competent trainer and leader. As well, he is one of the best students of Faculty of Public Administration, assocciated member of the University in Sarajevo on which he will graduate in 2016.

Bishop Teodosije

Bishop Teodosije, baptized as Živko Sibalic, was born on June 29, 1963 in Cacak. Upon completing his initial schooling he went on to study theology in Belgrade. He became a novice monk in the monastery of Crna Reka under the spiritual guidance of retired Bishop Artemije of Raska-Prizren. Later he received the monastic name ‘Teodosije’ after St. Theodosios the Great, the founder of monastic communal life (cenobitic). He was ordained hierodeacon in 1990 and hieromonk in 1992. Father Teodosije served the Diocesan court in Prizren as Deacon and personal chauffer of Bishop Artemije. In March 1992 he and a small groups of monks left the court for the monastery of Visoki Decani. He was made a head of the monastery and was ordained a heugomen. In May 2004 Teodosije was selected as the Bishop of Lipljan, vicar of the Diocese of Raska-Prizren.

Neil Tobin

is currently the Acting Director of the Human Rights and Communities Department within the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. A native of Ireland he has worked for over 10 years in the field of Human Rights in Africa, the Balkans and the former Soviet Union countries. He holds a Masters in International Development and Bachelor of Social Science.

Nadežda Tonic

Konrad Adenauer Stiftung – alumni. She finished Bachelor and M.A. studies on Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. She was involved in different projects in NGO and business area, such as one of the best students.

She cooperated with World Bank – Youth Voices Group, Banca Intesa, Belgrade Open School, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, The European Movement in Serbia, Our Future Network etc. Last year Nadežda got nominee in top 10 youth social scientist in Serbia. Nadežda attended more than 50 seminars, conferences and summer schools in Serbia and abroad.

Also, she is author of numerous papers. The most significant are: „Serbian and Albanian victims in Kosovo in Serbian NGO’s politics“, „Freemasonry in Serbia in discourses of self defining“, „Subordination of Serbian women in religious and cultural sence and possibilities for their overcoming“, and „Challenges of churches and religious communities in post-conflict society of Western Balkans“.

Hashim Thaçi First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo

Mr. Hashim Thaçi is the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo. Mr. Hashim Thaçi was one of the main founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (1992), and during the war (1998-1999), he was the political chief of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

During the International Conference on Kosovo, held in Rambouillet, France, (6 – 22 February 1999), Mr. Thaçi led the Kosovar Delegation. The signature by the Kosovo delegation of the Rambouillet Accords opened the way for the NATO military intervention in Kosovo. From March 1999 until January 2000, Mr. Hashim Thaçi was Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of Kosova (Unity Government). During this period he was active in intensive political and diplomatic activities in the major world centers in the US and the Western Europe. During the status negotiation process (2005 – 2007) led by the UN Special Envoy, President Martti Ahtisaari, Mr. Thaçi was member of the Unity Team. The Ahtisaari document resulted in the Comprehensive Proposal for the independence of Kosovo, making Mr. Thaçi the first Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Kosova. He was elected member of the Assembly of Kosovo on three consecutive terms. He is also the political leader with the biggest number of votes won in the last parliamentary elections in Kosovo. Mr. Thaçi completed his undergraduate studies in history from the University of Prishtina in 1993. Since 1999, Mr. Hashim Thaçi promoted and defended the Kosovar cause through numerous lectures and speeches given in dozens of prestigious universities and institutions in the West. He also published many editorials and articles in the local, regional and international press. He speaks English and German languages.

Don Cristoforo Rocco di Torrepadula

Cristoforo Rocco di Torrepadula, is an Italian citizen.

Both sides of his family have a long association with the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St George and are fully supportive of the Order’s charitable activities.

Cristoforo is a Council member of the Order in the UK where he is resident. The family have for several decades had interests in North Africa, primarily Morocco, and through this Cristoforo is a strong supporter of inter faith dialogue primarily between Christians and Muslims at the present time as well as fully supporting the Vatican’s long standing commitment in this area under the inspired leadership of Pope Francis. He contributes to several charities that further this dialogue. Having got to know Syria well just prior to the civil war he has taken part in several conferences and seminars related to this overall area at Chatham House where he is an active member.

Most recently Cristoforo expressed his strong support in a personal letter to the head of the Coptic Church in the UK following the tragic murder of the Coptic Christians in Libya. Cristoforo is a graduate of London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies and of Johns Hopkins University’s Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Professionally he is a director of the Mill Group.

Yunus Tughra

Yunus Tughra is working as International Relations Advisor to the First Vice President of Afghanistan. Previously he worked as GTA (Greater Toronto Area) District Developer for Special Olympics in Canada. He also worked as a linguistic consultant at University of Toronto. Although he was born and raised in Afghanistan, much of his adult life was spent in Turkey where he received university degrees in public administration and international relations. He also worked for the Turkish Foreign Ministry while he was a PhD student in Ankara. In this capacity, he attended regional and international summits of various organizations, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). In addition, he got a glimpse into the world of international diplomacy when he worked as a diplomat at the Afghan embassy in Ankara – Turkey. Along with English, Uzbek and Turkish, he is fluent in Farsi and Pashto.

Milan Vignjevic

is External Communications Officer and Project Manager at Open Communication, where he was the president in period 2009 – 2013. He is a Project Coordinator for Serbia and Financial Director of MICC WeB (Model of International Criminal Court for Western Balkans). Milan served as the Chief Adjudicator of European Universities Debating Championship “Zagreb 2014” – biggest academic competition in Europe. He also convened in 2012 in Belgrade. Apart from Euros he CA’d and organized more than 20 debate tournaments, helped in organization of World Universities Debating Championship 2014 (India). As a debate coach he served at academies and seminars in USA, Russia, China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Bulgaria and he was the Head Coach of Open Communication 2009 – 2014. Milan was also the Assistant editor of Monash Debating Review for 2015.

Luka Vukic

finished the studies of History and Philosophy (Master degree). Postgraduate studies of the Foreign Policy and Diplomacy on the University of Political Science in Zagreb gave him an educational qualification for economic development strategies geared towards developing countries, integration of different economies, international trade policies and influence of economic transactions on international relations. Apart from acquiring academic qualifications relevant to the department of political affairs, he has made attempts to attend briefings in order to get a feel of working in an organization like NATO. Some of the briefings he attended include Scientific Conference ‘’Five years of Croatia in NATO’’ and International conference Azerbaijan - Croatian relations: ‘’From challenges to future perspective’’. International Scientific Conference in Dubrovnik, June 16-23, 2014th, titled ‘’Where are the boundaries of nato’s activities? The road to cardiff’s meeting’’. He also attended the NATO summer school in the Czech Republic from July 6 to 11, of 2014. Roundtable - ‘Prospects of small countries in the post-transitional period - the view from the Croatia’’ Membership in the EU and NATO - a new potential for the expansion of the foreign policy spectrum and capacity, Balkan SAYS – Security Architecture Youth Seminar 24 – 27 October 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Youth Forum of Igman Initiative reconditions - II Forum of the new regional policy and European integration problem of youth unemployment in Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and BiH solution modeled on the Nordic model of cooperation 14th - 16.November 2014, Belgrade “. Luka has been on Model of Youth NATO Summit (MoNYS) in Podgorica, Montenegro 1st-7th December 2014.

Nemanja Vukotic

finished Bachelor and Master studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Montenegro. He has invested a lot of his time in activities not directly related to his studies. These include workshops, conferences, seminars and summer schools as well as his engagement in the non-governmental organizations. The most important are: II Forum of the new regional policy and European integration “The issue of youth unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia – solutions by Nordic cooperation model”, 14 -16 November 2014., Belgrade/Serbia, “Jubilee as a roadmap for a secure future”, 26-28 Jun 2014. Herceg Novi/Montenegro, “Igman circle”, 24. Jun 2014. Podgorica/Montenegro, “Collaboration among young people using the Nordic model as an example of cooperation”, 29-30 November 2013. Pristina/Kosovo, “Summer school of democraty”, 28th September - 1st October 2013., Brac/Croatia etc. He is founder of two NGOs: Center for regional cooperation and Initiative for cooperation and he is also an active member of the Youth forum of Igman initiative, regional youth network. Nemanja is currently working as a journalist at the portal of the independent daily “Vijesti”.

Ferre Westermann

Ferre Westermann is a young and highly motivated student from the Netherlands. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in International Relations: International Studies at Leiden University and a Master of Science in Systems Engineering, Policy Analysis and Management at Delft University of Technology. He is skilled in multi-disciplinary approaches, with an emphasis on multi-actor situations.

Westermann has served as a student-assistant in the courses Principles of Policy Analysis, Solving Complex Problems and System Dynamics. He has completed a minor in creative writing at Maastricht University and, next to his passion for literature, is also a fervent music lover.

Westermann is especially interested in reconciliation and attended a course at Leiden University given in cooperation with the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation.

By combining his background in engineering and policy with knowledge on social issues, he strives to be part of the future generation that will change the world for the better.

Dr. Revd Thomas Wipf

is the Moderator of the European Council of Religious Leaders - Religions for Peace. He pursued theological studies at the universities of Basel, Münster/Westfalen and Zurich.

He is President of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe with 105 member churches in 29 countries. Dr. Wipf is a member of the Presidium of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and President of the Council of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (FSPC), representing 2.4 million Protestants. From 1999 till 2010 he founded the Swiss Council of Religions (SCR). He has also served as President of the FSPC General Assembly and as a Member of the Board of the Reformed Cantonal Church of Zurich. Between 1993−1998 he worked in a Parish ministry in Schönenberg (Zurich).

Behar Xharra

is a policy consultant and social media analyst focusing on development, diplomacy and security issues. Behar Xharra is the founder of Kosovodiaspora.org, a crowdsourcing digital engagement and diplomacy platform, which serves as a tool to nurture existing links between Kosovo and its diaspora community. He has worked for various governmental and non-governmental agencies in New York, Pristina, Dhaka and Lagos. Currently, he serves as a Governance and Innovation Specialist at UNDP in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Behar Xharra is a graduate of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University. He has been a fellow at the Center for International Conflict Resolution and Harriman Institute at Columbia University. He finished his undergraduate studies at Earlham College.

Philip Ybring

Philip is a manager of communications at 3FF which is one of the UK’s leading interfaith/intercultural organizations.

3FF builds good relations between people of different faiths, beliefs and cultures through its schools, universities, arts and training programs, and international partnerships.

The organization was founded in 1997 and works with people with different faiths and beliefs, both religious and non-religious. Philip’s work looks at the role various forms of media can play in creating understanding between people of different beliefs. He particularly focuses on digital communications and how online platforms can be used to bring people from different backgrounds together, challenge stereotypes and spread more positive narratives.

Arian Xhezairi

is a writer, speaker, trainer researcher and engineer with an infexious passion for technology, religion studies, western culture and Islamic thought and philosophy. During the past years Arian has spoken and written on various topics within the fields of Science, Technology, Society and Religion.

He has always been especially interested in youth related programs and is quick to develop a rapport with them.

Arian is actively involved in various Da’wah (inviting non-Muslims to Islam as well as the Muslims to the true understanding and practice of Islam) and civil society activities and has lead a number of dawah campaigns in Prizren, Kosovo.

Gökhan Yücel

Gökhan Yücel is currently the head of the New Turkey Digital Office, a center employing 180 professionals working for AK Party’s digital and social media campaign towards the upcoming general elections in Turkey. From 2009 to 2011, he was a senior advisor to the Turkish Minister of National Education. He is known as a leading public intellectual, speaker, broadcaster and writer on digital diplomacy and 21st Century skills. He is also currently the president of the Istanbul Center for Digital Affairs which provides research, advocacy, consulting and training services (digitalaffairs.org). Gökhan Yücel holds BA in Journalism & Economics from Marmara University and MA in European Politics from Essex University. He studied politics at the University of Oxford. He also completed the Public Leadership Executive Program at Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Yücel contributes to Digital Age, Turkey’s sector-leader magazine for digital life & technology and Hürriyet’s education supplement.

Mr. Samuel Žbogar

Mr. Samuel Žbogar was appointed by the EU High Representative/EC Vice-President Catherine Ashton as the Head of the EU Office in Kosovo and by the Council of the EU as the European Union Special Representative in Kosovo. Mr. Samuel Žbogar is a former Slovenian Minister for Foreign Affairs and diplomat with 24 years’ experience in key strategic postings, including China, the UN in New York, and Washington DC. In his capacity of state secretary at the ministry of foreign affairs and EU political director, he led the preparation of Slovenia’s OSCE presidency, headed Slovenia’s negotiating team for NATO accession, and was a member of Slovenia’s EU negotiating team. He graduated from the University of Lubljana in Political Science-International Relations. He speaks English, Italian, Croatian/Serbian, and French. Mr Žbogar is a keen runner.

Interfaith Kosovo gathers young and experienced activists, academics and field players making the this years’ conference both exiting and demanding. In the following pages you’ll meet the Kosovo agents, who made Interfaith 2015 possible.

Renea Behluli

has been working for MFA for almost two years – as the Interfaith Event Coordinator, General Secretary Office Coordinator and Visa Centre Coordinator. She has finished her bachelor studies at the American University in Kosovo; majoring in Public Policy and Economics. While finishing her studies she also worked as an Academic Advisor at AUK and Research Assistant in other projects related to her field of study.

Jak Gjoni

is Executive Director of the International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue (IIID). His work here involves leadership and management of the foundation, which deals with promotion of interfaith dialogue and support of coexistence among communities with different cultural and religious background. Before this he was Executive Director Caritas Kosovo. Previous to this he was a Program Officer & Trainer for DELTA (Development Education and Leadership Teams in Action), in Prishtina & Sarajevo which involved organization and facilitation of various trainings and researches in conflict transformation, human rights, democracy and interethnic dialog in Kosovo and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Jak holds a Bachelor Faculty of Public Administration and Political Science.

Emanuel Gjokaj

is a Consultant at MFA, where he works on Event Management and Cultural Affairs. He studied Fine Arts in Prishtina then continued at Lehman College In New York.

He has an extensive experience in Management, Visuals and merchandising and Event Planning. Before working at MFA he worked at Sony Corporate America in Event management and visuals.

Fiona Kelmendi

has recently joined the MFA as Senior Officer for International Organizations. She finished her Master’s degree at Sciences Po Paris in International Economic Policy, and did her bachelor studies in Management and Public Policy at the American University in Kosovo. She has extensive research experience and has mainly worked with the civil society in Kosovo on projects focusing on socio-economic policies.

Gazmend Krasniqi

is a consultant on Public Diplomacy at the MFA for more than a year. He studied New Media & Business Management in Prishtina, and last 10 years has been involved as a consultant in various EU Projects and international organizations in Kosovo.

Rina Meta

is a consultant at MFA, where she works as adviser on Cultural Diplomacy. She studied Journalism and Mass Communication in Prishtina and Product Design in Thailand. She has an extensive experience in Cultural Journalism and editorial work. Before working at MFA she worked as Creative Director at New Moment New Ideas Prishtina, a regional advertising agency.

Kastriot Orana

has been working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) since June 2011 as Executive Assistant to Deputy Foreign Minister. He studied Economics at the University of Prishtina. He was involved in public diplomacy events organized by the MFA and MFA’s partners, including events such as Germia Hill Conference, Interfaith Conference, Kosovo Calling etc. Kastriot used to be the champion of Kosovo in Table Tennis.

Arita Panxha

is a program associate at the International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue. It is her second year assisting in organizing the International interfaith Conference. Arita has many years of work experience in the public and NGO sector in Kosovo and the UK. She has a BA/BSc in International Relations & European Studies and LLM degree in International & European Law from London Metropolitan University.

Marc Perry

is Executive Director of the International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue (IIID). His work here involves leadership and management of the foundation, which deals with promotion of interfaith dialogue and support of coexistence among communities with different cultural and religious background. Before this he was Executive Director Caritas Kosovo. Previous to this he was a Program Officer & Trainer for DELTA (Development Education and Leadership Teams in Action), in Prishtina & Sarajevo which involved organization and facilitation of various trainings and researches in conflict transformation, human rights, democracy and interethnic dialog in Kosovo and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Jak holds a Bachelor Faculty of Public Administration and Political Science.

Petrit Selimi

Petrit Selimi is Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, serving in this position in two government mandates since 2010.

He studied for BA at University of Oslo and Msc at LSE. He founded Interfaith Kosovo project as a component of country’s public diplomacy program. A prolific user of Twitter, Wired Magazine called him as “digital diplomacy pioneer”. His portfolio also includes accession of Kosovo to international organizations, combating violent extremism, etc. For his contribution to interfaith dialogue, he was bestowed an award by Cardinal Martino, Vatican’s nuncio at UN. Selimi was also active in Kosovo’s media and civil society scene, being cofounder of the first network of youth NGO’s in former Yugoslavia.

Alketa Spahiu

holds a cum laude bachelor in Political Sciences and Intercultural Communication and a MA degree in Multilateral Diplomacy and Collective Security from the University of Perugia, Italy. She is an author of four books written in native language. She serves as Program Associate at the International Institute for Interfaith Dialogue.

Previously she was involved in a lot of projects related to youth, human rights, cross- border cooperation.

Deniz Xheka

is working as intern at MFA and studies in American University of Kosovo - Rochester Institute of Technology.

He is expected to graduate with majors in Economics and Public Policy and minor in International Relations.

Astrit Zatriqi

Astrit Zatriqi is a native of the Republic of Kosovo. Since August 2012, Astrit has been an external advisor to the deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Kosovo, on the functioning of democratic institutions/institutional development component, including issued related to regional cooperation. His interest in multicultural societies and human rights has led him to a series of engagement opportunities, including a five-year working experience at a local organization that provides free legal assistance and advice in the field of civil rights to inhabitants of Kosovo, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable communities such as the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians.

He completed his undergraduate studies in international relations and media communications at Webster University in Geneva, followed by a Master’s in international relations at the Geneva School of Diplomacy.

This book is issued on the occasion of the International Interfaith Conference 2015, held in Prishtina, Kosovo.

The additional content of photos and might have been previously published and are works of Meddy Huduti, Armend Krasniqi Ermal Meta, Fisnik Dobreci and Jetmir Idrizi.