Dren Zatriqi is a tourism facilitator at PPSE Project- financed by SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) and implemented by Swisscontact in Kosovo. Prior to this he was a Project and Analysis Specialist and Supply Manager at KEDS (Kosovo Energy Distribution and Supply Company). His previous professional experience includes Management Consulting at USAID (Project managed by Tetra Tech in Prishtina, Kosovo), Business Loan officer at Pro Credit Bank and Micro Loan Officer at FINCA.
He completed his bachelor degree in Tourism and Hotel Management at University of Prishtina in 2008.
Shpresa Loshaj works for Government of Canada as a Policy Advisor at Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). In the past, Shpresa has worked for the department of health, the World Bank and various non-profit agencies. She has a Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration from Carleton University. Her area of expertise includes pharmaceutical policy, intellectual property, trade policy as well as the effectiveness of international community in building institutional capacity in Kosovo. Shpresa grew up in Decan and went to Canada as a refugee in 1999.
Denis Nushi has a Doctorate on social and human studies from the Atlantic International University in Honolulu, USA, and Licentiatus Philosophicae (equivalent to MA) in Politics and Conflict (social Anthropology), social Psychology and Criminology from the Zurich University, Switzerland. He has finished successfully an Internship at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, Austria in 2006. Since April 2000 until 2010 he has worked part-time in the field of Law Enforcement for the Criminal- and Federal Police in Zurich, Switzerland. Since February 2010 until March 2017 he has gained professional experience with the UNDP Kosovo Office in the role of the Human Development Reporting- and Teaching Specialist within the UNDP Kosovo Policy and Research Department. He was organizational and operational manager of (Kosovo) Human Development Reports, and one of the co-authors of the Kosovo Human Development Report 2014 titled “Migration as a Force for Development.” He has been selected as an expert for migration and development covering South-East Europe by the UNDP Brussels in 2014. In June 2017 Mr. Nushi has graduated as a Rotary International Peace Fellow at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. He currently teaches and holds lectures on migration and development in higher education institutions. His key knowledge areas: human development reporting/- teaching, evidence-based policy-making, migration research, migration and development, illegal migration in South-East Europe. Spoken languages: German, Albanian, Serbo-Croatian and English.
Dears, I’m Emel Ajdini, Youth Worker, born and living in Prishtina. I’ve been working in CSO mainly in Kosovo and in the region of the Western Balkan since 2008; mainly with young people of different ethnic background, education, culture, and since three years now I’m working in the field of human rights, dealing with the past and transitional justice. I love my job, projects give this adrenaline all the time, no repetition, and especially I love it because it challenges me all the time so I don’t get bored 🙂 I like yoga, and salsa music. I’m happy to be part of DSK 2017, meeting new people, new colleagues, different settings, new challenge for me and I am so looking forward to it. And I wish us all good luck, fun and see you soon.
I’m a people person who always gets excited about new ideas and possibilities to design meaningful solutions to advance humanity. Advancing humanity is dear to my heart because after having lived through the 1999 Kosovo war, I realized that the real problems were not the people who caused the problems, but those who did not do anything about them. I’m a firm believer that all of our problems are just opportunities that we have not designed the right solutions yet; what we need is some more empathy, sophisticated teamwork, collaborative leadership, and change making. During high school, I found a deep appreciation for physics. It is a science that aims to make things simple and explain why things happen the way they do. That was the reason why I chose to study engineering, and I ended up graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Alternative Energy Technologies from Arizona State University (ASU). While I was an engineering student, I had a realization that moved me profoundly and was the reason why I chose to dedicate my time on advancing humanity. That moment triggered an inner drive in me to take many leadership roles including co-founding 5 student organization, leading a university initiative, serving as a student senator, and co-founding two non-profit organizations. I continued to pursue a graduate degree in Global Technology and Entrepreneurship at ASU. My graduate thesis was studying the human-centered design approach to problem solving; where I got to explore ways people come up with powerful ideas. ASU provided incredible recognitions including Valedictorian, Graduate Commencement Student Speaker, the prestigious Pitchfork award as the Outstanding Graduate Student Leader, Lean Six Sigma Black and Green Belt, and more. All of this lead me to Ashoka, the world’s pioneer network of system changing social entrepreneurs, and its mission to catalyze a future in which everyone has the necessary tools and knowledge to drive social change.
Indira Kartallozi is the founder and director of Chrysalis Family Futures – a social enterprise that stands for the protection and empowerment of human and socioeconomic rights of vulnerable and marginalized families and children. She is also the founder of the Migrant Entrepreneurs International – a global network connecting migrant entrepreneurs and promoting their positive social and economic contribution worldwide. Her work has taken her to various countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. In the UK, she works as a Legal Advisor for Freedom From Torture, and previous role as a Senior Caseworker for Baobab Centre for Young Survivors in Exile, and a Welfare Rights and Housing Advisor at Haringey Migrant Support Centre. In 2015, Indira was a top 5 finalists in the Migrant Woman of the Year. She is also on the Advisory Board of the Social Enterprise Reporting Awards, an initiative of CSR Nigeria, and Kosovo Changemakers initiative in Kosovo. Since completing her MA in Refugee Studies and her groundbreaking research on austerity and welfare reforms, Indira has been invited to speak to various conferences and seminars around the world
Beqir Lahu is an entrepreneur with experiences in the healthcare, local governance and information technology. As a founding member of kerkomjekun.com, the first e-health platform in Kosovo, he was part of the Innovation Center of Kosovo. Beqir has gained long years of experiences working with international donors in education, good governance and innovation. As a Fulbright Fellow he graduated from Clarkson University with a MBA in Healthcare Management while also earning the Joseph Finkelstein Award for Academic Excellence and Cross-Cultural Contribution to Clarkson’s Business School. While being in the U.S. Beqir completed also a one-year internship at General Electric in its Global Operations Division. Beqir speaks Albanian, English and German. Currently he is a lecturer at a German-Kosovar College in Kosovo in the Field of Healthcare Management.
Shpetim Shujaku has graduated for Economics in the University of Prishtina in the field of Accounting, banks and finances. During and before his studies he has been an active member of many volunteering activities such as: teaching, assisting and translating in many formal and informal events. After his graduation he continued his activities in his profession by working as a staff accountant for 2 years at “Accounting” L.L.C., as a research assistant in a social study in Kosovo and lastly as an assistant manager in “Santefarm” L.L.C. – a wholesale pharmaceutical company. His passions and interests have a wide range of fields such as: acting, football, history, music and outdoor activities such as hiking and jogging, traveling etc.
Selvije Kurti become part of the Germin family, in the “Diaspora School in Kosovo” program as “program support”, because she believes that by being part of such a program, her enthusiasm and potential will be channeled properly, in providing opportunities to bring together the Diaspora, region and Kosovo, to co-create initiatives for positive changes, that directly affect the welfare of society.
She holds dual degree in Public Administration and Management of Public Services at “University College Lillebaelt” and “International Business College Mitrovica”. Beside studies, Selvije, worked in the civil society and public sector, mainly in the field of human rights protection, dealing with the past and peace building, local governance and social inclusion. She started as project coordinator in the program of “Human Rights Education for Active Citizenship in the Western Balkans”, which was initiated and supported by Committee of Helsinki, and implemented by CBM, continuing with other governmental and non-governmental organizations such as: World Vision International – Albania, Municipality of Mitrovica and finally in a cross-border project “Building Social Inclusion through Education”, implemented by Kosovo Education Center and supported by the EU’s office in Kosovo.
Lira Haxhijakupi holds a degree in Marketing from the University of Prishtina, and has previously worked for a number of institutions in Kosovo, including Kosovo Banking Association and Kosovo Pension Savings. She has extensive knowledge in working with a variety of communities thanks to her involvement with a consulting firm in Prishtina for over three years. She has recently contributed to the research project “Preventing Violent Extremism through Inclusive Development and the Promotion of Tolerance and Respect for Diversity”, and has also led the organization of three editions of the Women in Business Programme with World Bank and International Finance Corporation.
Hana Halilaj is currently pursuing her studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Kosovo. Hana is involved at NGO Germin as managing director of the KosovoDiaspora.org, a crowdsourcing digital engagement and diplomacy platform that connects Kosovars to the world, and the world with Kosovars. In the past, Hana has worked in numerous youth organizations in Kosovo that primarily focused on education. Hana is a certified community safety trainer and served as member of the Community Safety Program – Local Public Safety Committee( LPSCs). She has specific interest in culture and arts, thus she has interned for a year at Lambdalambdalmabda, a contemporary art gallery in Kosovo. She is also engaged of Hajde! Foundation, which supports and promotes contemporary art in Prishtina.
Liza Gashi is a public policy professional with experience in project and campaign management, qualitative analysis and big data, and multi-stakeholder engagement in Kosovo, the United States, Costa Rica and Argentina. Liza is a founding member of Germin and the www.kosovodiaspora.org platform. She has also founded and currently leads the United World Colleges Committee in Kosovo (UWC Kosova), which has administered scholarships for Kosovo high school students to attend UWC colleges in 16 different countries. Liza completed a Master of Public Administration (MPA) at Arizona State University, and holds a bachelor degree from Wartbrug College (IA) in International Relations, Political Science and Spanish. She is a graduate of United World College in Costa Rica, and studied for a semester at the National University of Córdoba in Argentina.
Behar Xharra is a development, governance, peace and security professional. A native of Kosovo, Behar has worked for various governmental and non-governmental agencies in Washington DC, New York, Dhaka, Lagos and Prishtina.Behar is a founding member of Germin. He has extensive experience on policy, research, and engagement of Diasporas in development and diplomacy. He has co-authored a policy framework on the role of Kosovo’s Diaspora in public diplomacy, and founded the www.kosovodiaspora.org, a crowdsourcing digital engagement platform. Behar is a graduate of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), Columbia University and Earlham College. He was a fellow at the Center for International Conflict Resolution and the Harriman Institute.