Immediate cause of this proposal: Spring 2007, eight representatives of the RAE-settlement Plementina, part of the community Obilisc, ten kilometre outside Pristina, came to the Kosovo Institute of Journalism and Communication (KIJAC) requisitioning assistance for a curriculum English. Their request was granted and during three months they enjoyed free lessons. At the end they asked for help to have a radio training, to be taught journalism and to create their own radio station or at least, in their own words, to regain the broadcasting hours they once had within the local radio station.

Background:
Once, during the Ottoman Empire, the Millet system was originated – a political solution for the complex nationality and ethnic problems of the previous Islamic authority. The system guaranteed relatively autonomy to the different minorities and particularly religious minorities within the Muslim state. Remnants of the system still existed in former Yugoslavia where RAE-communities by example, had, or could have, their own schools and churches. They also had access to public radio to broadcast their own programs. In almost every significant city in Kosovo, local public radio reserved at least two radio hours a week for the RAE. In the end of the nineties when the war in Kosovo ended, the system collapsed. Roma, Ashkaeli and Egyptians were excluded from radio. Their broadcasting time was taken away.
(Some radio-stations in Serbian enclaves, like radio Kim in Gracanica, still offers RAE-minorities two hours a week broadcasting. Radio Kontakt Plus in the north of Mitrovicca employs two Roma-journalists who especially report about RAE-minorities)

General situation:
In Kosovo are living an estimated number of 40.000 Roma, Ashkaeli and Egyptians(RAE), Sinti and Gorash – about two percent of the total population. According to current estimates, between twenty and forty percent of that number is not registered – that means they simply do not exist, they are or will become stateless. Before the war there were almost 150.000 RAE in Kosovo. Most of them fled because of the war and only a very small number returned. Reason is that the RAE population is victim of deep distrust and hostility from the Albanian population, who sees in every minority a pro Serb attitude. They are discriminated in the most vulgar way. They are doomed to live in displacement, in Serb enclaves in Kosovo or in Serbian majority areas. Others live in Montenegro and Macedonia – or in the ill famed camp in the northern part of Mitrovica, contaminated by high levels of lead. The RAE people who stayed have not any participation in civic or political life in Kosovo. They have no work, receive no education and find hardly shelter. And there is a lack of social cohesion within the RAE communities self. In a recent study about the RAE minorities, written on behalf of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Julie Chadbourne concluded: ‘The perspectives of the RAE community are rarely heard on national television or radio broadcasts. They do not engage in public demonstrations, marches or collective actions to gather attention for their specific interest. Because they don’t participate, they are not heard or prioritized, thus perpetuating the high levels of unregistered and uneducated community members.’
The study, called ‘Second class Minorities’, quotes a RAE strategy expert in Kosovo saying: ‘Roma are in a vicious circle. They are undeveloped because they are not educated. They are not educated because of their economic position. Why? Because they are not educated.’

The goal of this proposal is to break the vicious circle. Starting to offer representatives from different RAE-settlements an opportunity to join a radio training. And, later on, to achieve they will get back radio time and in the end to have an own radio station in Kosovo.

Training in KIJAC:
The Kosovo Institute of Journalism and Communication(KIJAC) is willing to provide RAE-trainees with a professional radio training program – to facilitate their participation in society. Established in 2005 with the help of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KIJAC is the first institute of a kind in the Southeast Europe to provide quality education in Master’s level for students and media from the region and beyond. Parallel the institute offers different professional short training programs. The institute is visited by students from Kosovo, Serbia and Albania. As well as in journalism, KIJAC plays an important role in the process of reconciliation, in teaching respect and mutual understanding, in fighting discrimination and trying to involve every minority in the new democratic society. Located in a large building, ten kilometres outside Pristina, with excellent training-equipment, KIJAC has become a professional and academic meeting point in Kosovo.

Design:
Goal is to start a short training program for selected candidates of the RAE-population. At the end of the first training, the best trainees will be selected and invited to join a second course.
In discussions with the representatives of Plementina, we made clear that a radio-training must be open for all the RAE-minorities in Kosovo. So every RAE-settlement in cities like Peja, Gjilan, Gjakove, Prizren and Mitrovica must have the opportunity to send candidates to the training course.
KIJAC will send members of the staff to the different RAE-settlements to make a first selection of the trainees. In individual approaches trainees will be judged on their knowledge of English, their willingness to start everyday right on time and to spend parts of the day at school, their eagerness and curiosity, their fascination for broadcasting and their absolute desire to seize an opportunity to participate in society.
The first, two weeks lasting training, will be used to perfect the selection. Dependent on the number of candidates from the different RAE-settlements, there will be more test training periods. At the end of every training, the best students will be asked to join another course that goes more in depth.
Skills will be developed in presenting local news programs, interviewing, explaining life in RAE settlements, explaining the situation from RAE-minorities in Kosovo and abroad, paying attention to oral history and presenting (characteristic) music programs, with explanation about the origin and the performers of the music.
KIJAC is aware of the specific problems of RAE-students, realises the possible disappointments but is also convinced that with a lot of patient pearls will be found between the grit.

Prospects after the training:
KIJAC takes care for a complete studio, originating from the Norwegian broadcasting company. The studio will be located immediately in the neighbourhood of the school and will be controlled by KIJAC. The idea is to invite representatives of the different RAE-communities and RAE-groups to broadcast their programs on fixed hours. Because KIJAC maintains warm contacts with local radio stations all over Kosovo, it will be easy to find ways to broadcast RAE-programs in different ways and to use the existing radio-network. KIJAC also will play a role in acquiring a frequency for a RAE-radio transmitter.

Finance :
To implement our goal, KIJAC needs 15.000 Euro for the first preparation and selection of the RAE-trainees. The amount includes visits to about ten settlements in Kosovo, travel expenses, transport trainer/consultant/staff.
Depending the success of the first applications, KIJAC asks the donors to guarantee another grant to organise the first test training courses for the RAE-students. Depending the results of these first trainings, KIJAC demands donors to agree in principle to finance a course radio journalism for the best students. During the preparations to come to the decisive course, trainers will be able to paint together with the students the best possible curriculum.

Final goal:
Once, when RAE-minorities become aware of their situation and once they start using the tools of citizenship they can change the prevailing ideas of being inferior to others. Goal is to make them aware of the rooted causes of stigmatization. Besides working together for the same aim will strengthen the social cohesion within the RAE-world.

Formulated by
Rudie van Meurs , journalist, consultant, staffteacher KIJAC, Herwijnen, Holland 6 september 2008

In close cooperation with
Dr.Willem Houwen, head of KIJAC Pristina Kosovo 6 september 2008

(Proposal donors media/minorities, september 2008)