Activities - Safe Place Project

Activities

Community Safety Campaign in Ferizaj, Kosovo

“with wisdom, not with gun”

As part of the SafePlace project Saferworld, in co-operation with Forum for Civic Initiatives (FIQ), Initiative for Progress (INPO) and the Ferizaj Student Council (KNF) which represents over 6000 students, designed and carried out an awareness-raising campaign on the harmful impact of weapons. The campaign, which aimed to reduce violence around schools, was implemented in Ferizaj, Kosovo’s second-largest city with the support of students, teachers and the police. The campaigners hosted lectures, public discussions, and symbolic performances regarding the consequences of the use of weapons in the society. The campaign was firmly supported by the Kosovo Police, the local government and school directors, and was widely covered by national and local printed and electronic media. Initial reports suggest that the campaign had a positive impact but a more in depth analysis of feedback from the general public is currently being collected.

Launch of Saferworld’s policy options paper for civilian disarmament in Kosovo - ‘Ready or not?’

August 2009 - During August, Saferworld launched the report ‘Ready or not? Exploring the prospects for collecting illicit small arms and light weapons in Kosovo’ and conducted series of debates on the harmful impact of weapons in six major municipalities of Kosovo. This was a follow up to the official launch in Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo in July. Debates at local level were organised by Saferworld with the Forum for Civic Initiatives (FIQ), Peace and Human Rights Council, Initiative for Progress, Community Building Mitrovica, Community Business Development Center, Kosovo Center for International Co-operation, Communication for Social Development and Syri i Vizionit. The launches was well attended, with representatives from local government, local police, judges, prosecutors, Municipal Community Safety Committees, Local Public Safety Councils, Community Safety Action Teams, a hunting association, Kosovo Security Force and local NGOs, and was subsequently covered by at least four local print and electronic media in each municipality. The debates provoked lively discussions and attracted a lot of attention in the national and local media.

Launch of new small arms and light weapons report, Kosovo

July 2009 - On Tuesday 21 July, Saferworld launched a new report in Pristina entitled ‘Ready or not? Exploring the prospects for collecting illicit small arms and light weapons in Kosovo’. The report analyses people’s perceptions of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Kosovo, and reviews previous weapons collection initiatives in Kosovo, as well as in the wider region, gathering a number of ‘lessons’ learned from these experiences. On this basis, recommendations are offered on how to increase the chances of success of any forthcoming weapons collection initiative. The report is launched in the context of a new law on weapons currently under review in Kosovo. Eckart Blaurock, Deputy Head of Mission for the German Embassy in Pristina opened the launch by expressing the German Government’s concern about the issue of illicit SALW in Kosovo and its support for the work of Saferworld and FIQ. The launch was well attended, with representatives from local police, Ministry of Interior, international institutions (ICO, EULEX and UNDP) and local non-governmental organisations, and was subsequently covered well in the local print and electronic media. The report is available in English, Albanian and Serbian.

Submission on security strategy, Kosovo

June 2009 - In response to an invitation for contributions by the Kosovo Security Council and the International Civilian Office in Kosovo, Saferworld has made a submission on the initial drafting of a Kosovo security strategy. The submission focuses on the purpose of a national security strategy, the process by which it is developed and the principles that underpin it. In particular Saferworld believes that a participatory approach is more likely to lead to the development of long-term strategies that can provide sustainable peace and stability for Kosovo and for the region.

Community safety meeting, Kosovo

Saferworld participated in a meeting of the Kosovo community-based policing forum, run by the Department for Community Affairs and the Kosovo Police. At this meeting Saferworld invited the chair of the school council from Gjilan/Gnjilane to give a brief presentation focusing on their experience of working with Saferworld and our partner the Forum for Civic Initiatives (FIQ) to implement a community safety programme in high schools in their district. The presentation revealed that co-operation with other actors such as parents, police, judges, prosecutors and local government officials was key in achieving positive results and improving safety at schools in Gjilan/Gnlilane

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