The UN Kosovo Team and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo announce the winners of the Journalism Poverty Prize 2017

Pristina, 20 October 2017 – In marking of the International Day of Eradication of Poverty, and to promote an increased debate around the issues and causes of poverty in Kosovo, the United Nations Kosovo Team (UNKT) and the Association of Kosovo Journalists held today the 12th Award Ceremony of the Journalism Poverty Prize 2017 contest.

The jury – composed by Lundrim Aliu from the World Bank, Arta Berisha from the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Arben Hajredinaj from OSCE, Djordje Jevtić from the Association of Serbian Journalists in Kosovo, and Violeta Hyseni-Kelmendi, independent expert – have selected six winners in six categories.

The winning journalists were announced tonight, during a ceremony attended by UN Representatives, journalists, donors and civil society.

• Valdete Osmani won the category Best Short Video story with the news story “Living a difficult life”, broadcast by RTK. LINK

• Anđelka Čup won the category Best TV Documentary with the reportage ““Living as a minority”, broadcast by RTV Mir. LINK1 LINK2 LINK3

• Majlinda Doda won the Best Audio Story with the radio reportage ““How does Kosovo fulfill the Sustainable Development Challenges”, broadcast by Radio Kosova.

• Serbeze Haxhiaj won the Best Written Story with the article “The enduring agony of wartime rape in Kosovo”, published by Kallxo.com and BIRN. LINK in albanian, LINK in english

• Driton Paçarada won the category Best Photography.
  

  Copyright Pacarada Koha Ditore

The program has also highlighted the inspirational poverty talk and an installation by renowned artist Alketa Xhafa Mripa who flew in from UK for this event. Previously Ms. Xhafa Mripa was the key creator of the “Thinking of you” installation supported by the UNWOMEN in Kosovo.

Global poverty

As of today, 800 million people live in extreme poverty, which means living on less than US$ 1.25 a day.

To eradicate extreme poverty is the first Sustainable Development Goal: NO POVERTY.

The Sustainable Development Goals are an opportunity for everyone to work to build a better world.

Governments around the world committed to eradicating extreme poverty for all people everywhere, and to reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women, and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions by 2030.

Poverty in Kosovo

Poverty rates in Kosovo remain the highest in the region and in Europe: According to the Statistical Agency of Kosovo and the World Bank, today 5.2% of the population lives in extreme poverty.

Thankfully, Kosovo is witnessing an encouraging trend, with poverty rates declining. But many challenges remain:

• The 3.6% GDP growth rate registered in 2016 is not enough to translate into significant changes in the key development indicators.
• The employment rate in Kosovo is still the lowest in the region and far below the EU. The overall unemployment rate is very high 27.5%, with youth unemployment at 52.4%. Most notably, Kosovo has also the highest unemployment rate for women in Europe: 31.8%. (Source: Kosovo Statistical Agency).

The UN Agencies in Kosovo will continue advocating for each woman and man to have the right to decent work, for enforcing labor standards and addressing any form of exclusion or discrimination.

END

Note: The United Nations Kosovo Team (UNKT) brings together the UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes in Kosovo. The UNKT entails 19 United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes active in Kosovo, and includes FAO, ILO, IOM, OHCHR, UNWOMEN, UNDP, UNDSS, UNEP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHABITAT, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNODC, UNOPS, UNV, WHO and the two international financial institutions, the IMF and the World Bank.

The UNKT works with and for the people of Kosovo as a trusted, effective and impartial partner, helping build a fully inclusive, thriving and sustainable society where no one is left behind.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out a comprehensive vision and universal blueprint to end extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030. With its pledge to leave no one behind, the 2030 Agenda is our boldest agenda for humanity.

The 17 Global Goals promote human rights and economic, social and environmental sustainability. They are interconnected, universal, inclusive and indivisible: we need to achieve all the Goals to build the future we want.

Learn more at: http://www.globalgoals.org.