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Remittances: A Footprint for Development – Kosovo Diaspora in Switzerland
Date: 26/11/2021
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On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, GERMIN organized the third lecture With the Kosovar diaspora from Switzerland. This meeting is part of a series of activities Within the Greenback 2.0 project, by the World Bank in cooperation with the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo and funded by the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs.

The lecture focused on remittances and their role as guides for the socio-economic development of Kosovo. Switzerland is one of the main sources of remittances for Kosovo.

The meeting was moderated by Mrs. Edlira Dashi, who presented a brief introduction to the topic, project and panelists, as well as a brief explanation of remittances. where he showed more about the importance of remittances, as well as some of the statistics from world Bank, which show the importance of remittances for the economic stability of Kosovo.

Finance expert at the Central Bank of Kosovo, Mr. Bejtush Kiçmari, spoke about various studies on remittances in Kosovo and how their growth is projected in the coming years. He shared statistics on how diaspora money spent in Kosovo annually is greater than the amount of Kosovo’s annual budget. He also spoke about economic trends in Kosovo. He also stressed that remittances are calculated only those that come through transaction agencies, where it is known that informal ways are still emphasized.

Mr. Osman Osmani, co-founder of the association Prointegra in Switzerland, mainly mention some of the main points of importance of remittances, but I also suggest on what it would be necessary to create policies that would help to channel the remittances that lead towards the development of the mother country. He also stressed the importance of organizing migrants and their funds in Kosovo.

During the meeting you were interested in the audience who told about their experiences in terms of deliveries, as well as the challenges they have in this regard, both in legal terms and in practice.

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Success Story: Transforming Education Through Diaspora Mentorship
Empowering Educators with Cutting-Edge Technology In a small corner of Kosovo, a remarkable partnership between a diaspora expert and a high school has reshaped the way education integrates with technology. Shkëlqim Sina, a Senior Software Engineer based in Germany, brought his global expertise to the "Peer-to-Peer Diaspora Mentorship" program. Through Germin's matching efforts, he collaborated with the teachers of “Lutfi Musiqi” High School in Vushtrri, Sector Workforce Innovation Grantee of the PSWD, to drive impactful change. Together, they embarked on a mission focused on developing a joint project to develop an application for registering students’ absences at the School.   The Challenge Like many educational institutions in Kosovo, “Lutfi Musiqi” High School, faced challenges in adopting modern technological solutions to support their teaching and administrative tasks. Tracking student attendance was a cumbersome and time-consuming process, often prone to errors and inefficiencies. The school needed a practical, user-friendly digital solution that could be seamlessly integrated into their workflows.   The Solution Over 12 intensive mentoring sessions spanning May to July 2024, Mr. Sina introduced the high school teachers to .NET Core Web API, Entity Framework Core, and essential software development practices. The mentorship program focused on a collaborative project: developing an application to track student attendance.   Guided by Mr. Sina's expertise, the teachers:                Designed and built a robust application leveraging SQL Server for efficient data storage.                Learned advanced coding practices, including API documentation using Swagger and testing with Postman.                Implemented secure authentication and role-based authorization to ensure data privacy.   Key Outcomes The mentorship not only resulted in the successful development of the student attendance application but also equipped the teachers with the skills to sustain and expand their technological capabilities.   Teacher Fatime Azemi reflected on the experience: "We have successfully developed a student attendance application aimed at evidencing the number of students’ absences during the school year. The mentorship increased our knowledge of using .NET Core Web API, and we greatly benefited from Mr. Sina's professional expertise and cooperative approach. We are optimistic about the potential for future collaboration and will soon start using the developed application."   Teacher Adil Jusufi highlighted the broader impact: "This mentorship has provided us with technical and practical knowledge that will serve to advance our teaching methodology and improve communication with parents. This collaboration has been a big step towards improving education in our school."   The Impact The collaboration demonstrated the transformative power of diaspora engagement in education. By bridging global expertise with local needs, the program not only addressed immediate challenges but also laid the groundwork for long-term improvement.   The mentorship program equipped the teachers of “Lutfi Musiqi” High School with the knowledge and skills needed to develop a digital solution for tracking student absences. As a result, they are now prepared to adapt and implement the project, marking a significant step toward modernizing administrative processes and embracing digital tools in education.   This success story underscores the profound impact of connecting local educators with global expertise, proving that mentorship can truly transform ideas into lasting impact.   This activity is implemented within the framework of the USAID Private Sector-led Workforce Development Activity financed by USAID and implemented by IREX and GERMIN.  
Date: 17/01/2025
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