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Afërdita Rushiti

serves as an Adviser to the Director General of the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) since April 2010. In this capacity, Ms. Rushiti function of Professional Associate for program development issues in RTK. Her main responsibilities are to advise the Director General for general international program trends, monitor the implementation of professional standard guidelines of RTK in public media, and prepare a program plan scheme as an aggregate framework of RTK. From 2002 to 2010, Ms. Rushiti served as Editor in Chief for Radio ‘Blue Sky’. During this time, Ms. Rushiti was in charge of a 24 hour, multilingual program, overseeing public broadcasters, journalists, and 50 other individuals working for the radio station. Ms. Rushiti has worked for IFES as PI Expert; for the University of Prishtina as Assistant Lecturer; with BBC Albania as Producer; and with Radio Free Europe as a Journalist. In 2007, Ms. Rushiti graduated from the Middlesex University in London, Untied Kingdom in Media and Communications Managements, where she received her MA degree. Ms. Rushiti also studied project management, new media, technology, marketing, e-commerce at the IPKO Institute for Management. The goal of Afërdita’s project is to create program schedules for the new channels that RTK wants to create in order to ‘create a bigger space of communication’ with its viewers. Afërdita’s while in DC did her research at IFES and CNN.

Anamari Repić

is the Deputy Director General of Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK). She mainly manages the RTK in accordance to the Law, Statute and Code of Conduct of RTK; monitors and regulates the work of all departments in Television and two RTK radios; plans and prepares the annual financial reports and business plans. Ms. Repic is also engaged in monitoring and improving the minority programs of RTK, and is also member of steering group for the establishing a Kosovo-wide Serbian language TV channel. Prior to this position she was Editor of Serbian edition of Radio ‘Blue Sky’. For nearly ten years she worked for Radio Free Europe as a Political Correspondent. During 2009, Ms. Repic was the Producer and Moderator of the Serbian language TV talk show “Sve je moguće sa Anon,” and the English language show “Everything is Possible with Ana”. Since 2008, Ms. Repic has served as the Vice President of the Press Council of Kosovo. Ms. Repic received her MA degree from Kosovo Institute for Journalism and Communication in 2009, and in 2006 she earned her Teaching degree from Prishtina University. While in Washington, D.C., Ms. Repic will focused on learning how to use and develop best practices and solutions in media, as well as harness planning steps for the implementation of a project to establish the new RTK channel for minority communities. She had the opportunity to visit Voice of America, Bloomberg and Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Arjeta Emra

has served as the Executive Director of the British Council Kosovo since 2000. Prior to her current post, Ms. Emra has worked in the Office of the Prime Minister, as Political Advisor/Liason between the government of Kosovo and Diplomatic Missions of Kosovo, as well as the UN. In addition, Ms. Emra has served as a Program Officer for Community Developmente for USAID/OTI (United States Agency for International Development, Office of Transition Initiatives); Project coordinator for the Nansen Dialogue Centre (part-time volunteer) and Human rights activist for the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms. In 1998 she was part of the University of Oslo in the International Summer School on ‘Peace Research’ and ‘International Relations and Foreign Policy’. Ms. Emra studied English Language and Literature in the University of Prishtina and received her BA in 1997. In spring of the same year, Ms. Emra she participated in a Ten Weeks Training Programme on ‘Democracy, Human Tights and Peaceful Conflict Resolution’ in The Fridtjof Nansen Academy, Lillehammer, Norway. Ms. Emra’s project focuses on a Public Diplomacy Institution / Organization, such as British Council, and shares this idea with other countries in conjunction with the Embassy of Kosovo. Arjeta while in DC visited The Public Diplomacy Council, Meridian International Center and American University – School of International Studies.

Brikenda Rexhepi

is the Assistant Editor in Chief in KOHA Ditore Newspaper where she mainly is responsible for: selecting stories for print, research, verifying statistics and facts presented in an article, editing content for style guidelines, and assist in print layout. Ms. Rexhepi has been with KOHA Ditore Newspaper since 1998, and prior to this position she worked as Publishing Editor; Senior Correspondent; Editor and Coordinator of the weekly supplement “And Now Europe”; Editor of International news and politics; and served as a Journalist. In addition, Ms. Rexhepi works as Lecturer of English Language at the University of Prishtina, Faculty of Philology. In 2009 she received her Master of Science degree on Linguistics from the University of Prishtina. She holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Philosophy and Philology, University of Prishtina, Kosovo. During the WLP program, Ms. Rexhepi aims to more information on how freedom of expression and protection of anonymous sources in U.S. media is managed. Ms. Rexhepi’s project focuses on the enhancement of free and fair reporting principles through clarifying the methodology of dealing with certain journalistic cases. In Washington, DC she did her research at Freedom House.

Iliriana Kaçaniku

serves as the European Integration and Good Governance Program Coordinator for Soros Foundation, Kosovo Foundation for Open Society (KFOS). Prior to this position, Ms. Kaçaniku was the Program Coordinator for the Public Administration and Local Government Program within KFOS. In addition, Ms. Kaçaniku was also engaged with UBO Consulting as a Consultant and Quantitative Data Analyzer; in the Secretariat for Kosovo Development Strategic Planning in Kosovo Government as Consultant/Reporter for the Civil Society Group; at the World Bank Institute in Washington, D.C. as Consultant in Community Empowerment and Social Inclusion Training Program. Ms. Kaçaniku holds a Master of Arts degree in Law and Diplomacy in the field of the International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution & Development Economics, from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University in Massachusetts. This program included: concepts and skills of negotiation for use in diplomacy, business, and law; methods of third-party intervention, from mediation to coercion; new approaches to international intervention, recognizing the roles played by the coordination of political, military, and non-governmental actors. Ms. Kaçaniku received her Masters of Arts in International Politics and Security Studies in 2002 from Bradford University, United Kingdom. Prior to these two degrees, Ms. Kaçaniku studied English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Philosophy and Philology at the University of Prishtina, earning her Bachelors of Arts degree. Ms. Kaçaniku is directly involved in a KFOS project on Communicating with Europe, which through track-two diplomacy, seeks to achieve recognitions from 5 EU member states that have not recognized Kosovo. Therefore Ms. Kaçaniku focused her professional development on how civil society organizations/donors can foster better inter-state confidence building. Taking into consideration that the experiences and resources in the United States are vast, Ms. Kaçaniku considers these elements crucial in diversifying the current mechanisms of the communicating. She had the opportunity to gain the knowledge required at The Washington Office of the Open Society Institute.

Jetmira Bërdynaj

is the Director of the Office for Consular Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Kosovo. Prior to this position, Ms. Bërdynaj worked as a Senior Officer for Consular Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo. In addition, Ms. Bërdynaj served as the Senior Officer for Regional Dialogue in the Coordination Office for International Cooperation and Regional Dialogue in the Office of Prime Minister of Kosovo. Further to her professional work, Ms. Bërdynaj currently is completing her Master of Sciences studies in Professional Studies and Public Administration in the American University, Kosovo. In June 2004 she received her bachelor degree from the Law Faculty in the University of Prishtina. Ms. Bërdynaj also participated in many trainings and workshops such as: workshop on readmission agreement; a study visit to European Union Institutions; negotiation studies in the European Union Context organized by the European Institute of Public Administration and Regional School of Public Administration; general training in EU Affairs for civil servants; and training on Diplomatic and Consular Law. Ms. Bërdynaj’s project focuses on the legalization of public documents issued by Kosovo authorities and all foreign documents used in Kosovo. Besides the fact of legitimating the actual legalization process and elaborating other possible modalities how to provide a better service to Kosovo citizens, her project will give a proposal on a possible legalization regime for foreign public documents, which will be mainly implemented by Kosovo consular missions abroad.  Jetmira did her research at Patton Boggs, LLC is an international law firm based in Washington DC and at U.S. Department of State, The mission of the Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA).

Merita Maliqi

is a Professor Assistant at “Victory” College in the Department on Foreign Policy and Diplomacy. She is mainly responsible for developing and implementing innovative instructional methods; developing professional logistics to improvise student performance; guiding, leading and mentoring students in research projects; evaluating, monitoring and mentoring student academic progress; creating, innovating and implementing career-enhancement programs and activities, as well as training new academics in the courses of Diplomatic Protocol and International Political Relations. In conjunction with her post as a Professor Assistant, Ms. Maliqi is a Masters Degree candidate, focusing on International Relations and Diplomacy, at “Victory” College. Ms. Maliqi earned her two Bachelors degrees in Political Science in the field of International Relations and Diplomacy from “Victory” College, and English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Philosophy and Philology University of Prishtina, Kosovo. While in Washington D.C., Ms. Maliqi project was learning the process of developing democracy that engages students to conduct research in three layers of government—local, state, and NGO. The goal of her project is to encourage participants to read and reflect about their own and others’ views of democracy and education. Merita while in DC interacted with professionals at George Mason University.

Shqipe Hajredini

current serves as the Senior Policy Officer in the Office of the Prime Minister, Office for Community Affairs, in the Kosovo Government. Her main responsibilities include drafting policies and legislation for communities; developing legal framework, government strategies, action plans and programs to ensure the right of the communities, their interests to be integrated and mainstreamed. Previously she worked as a Senior Legal officer in the Office of the Prime Minister responsible for legal advice to the cabinet. Shqipe also contributed as a first consultant for the International Relief and Development (IRD); and as a Coordinator for the Employment Opportunity Center for Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian (RAE) Community, and Project of Kosovo Youth Hostelling Association. Ms. Hajredini holds a Masters Degree in European Studies from the University of Hamburg, Germany. In addition, Ms. Hajredini holds a bachelor degree is in Law from the State University of Tetovo, Macedonia. Ms. Hajredini is fluent in Albanian, English, Serbian, Macedonian, French and Italian, and has a basic level rating in Norwegian. Ms. Hajredini’s project aims to create a policy system to better conduct itself for the betterment of the community and act closer to the needs of the citizens of Kosovo. Ms. Hajredini’s project will strengthen and develop the capacities for more integrated and policy oriented mechanism within the bodies and agencies of the executives in the government of Kosovo. Shqipe gained the knowledge required at The Office of Congressman Eliot Engel and Washington, DC City Hall.

Teuta Hyseni

is the Senior Officer for Immunities and Privileges in the Department of the State Protocol in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Prior to this, Ms. Hyseni served as Senior Officer for Protocol, also in the MFA. During 2006 Teuta served as an Executive Assistant in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, and also as an Assistant to the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG), and as the Standards Coordinator in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister.  Ms. Hyseni currently is candidate for the Master of Science in Professional Studies in the American University of Kosovo/Rochester Institute of Technology. Her prior educational credentials include a bachelor degree is in English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Philosophy and Philology, University of Prishtina Kosovo. Ms. Hyseni’s project focuses on establishing a Diplomatic Academy, which will be critical in safeguarding the financial resources of Kosovo; initiating talks with the donors; and initiating bilateral agreements with regional, European and other countries. This academy is in conjunction with the strategic goal within of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Institute of World Politics was the organization where Teuta did her research.

Ulpiana Lama

is the founder of FoKS (Kosovo Foundation of Solidarity). FoKS consists of a group of public personalities who operate on a voluntary basis for charitable, social, and philanthropic purposes. Each year FoKS identifies a marginalized sector/area and offers assistance. For the second consecutive year, FoKS’ 2009's project focused on Krusha e Madhe, a location in the municipality of Rahovec, where reside 204 widows and 508 orphans, whose partners and parents were killed during the war. Educationally, Ms. Lama is a PhD candidate in the field of Political Sciences at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (Conservatoire national des arts et métiers CNAM), Paris, France. Ms. Lama’s Masters Degree is on Identity, a multi disciplinary study on Anthropology, Sociology, and Philosophy from the Université Paris 8, Saint Denis, Paris, France; and her bachelor degree is on Social Sciences from the University of Tirana, Albania. Ms. Lama’s other skills include Script Writing abilities, including: features, comments published in national and international media (regular columnist for the daily ZERI, and contributor to Foreign Policy in Albanian); Analytical and Reporting Skills: Author and Co-author of different studies such as “Millennium Development Goals report 2004”, “Media Monitoring on March Events: What After?”, “Domestic Violence in Kosovo”, and “Connection between education policies and job market”; Audio and video-production; documentaries and TV shows produced ; and knowledge of Integrated Management Information System (IMIS). Currently Ms. Lama holds the position of Lecturer in Sociology of Work in the Pjeter Budi University in Prishtina, and she is fluent in Albanian, English, French and Italian. Ms. Lama’s project is an academic research initiative on strategic dialogue. The idea was to search on how to strategically negotiate and communicate academic findings to general public in Kosovo. The project will be implemented through communicating to public by writing as a white paper concept and through lecturing at Pejter Budi University. Ulpiana conducted her research at Center for Transatlantic Relations, Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

Vjosa Berisha

established B2 – PR & Media Solutions Company and she is in a position of Co-owner and Chief Executive in January of 2003. In 2006 she expanded her companies’ activity in Tirana, Albania and established the company B2 & ISSTRA. B2 agency is a PR and advertising company, doing work with such clients as: British Airways, Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo, Kosovo Government, Democratic Party of Kosovo, US Embassy Prishtina, and AED-USAID. Ms. Berisha is also the Co-founder and Festival Director of the Prishtina International Film Festival where she mainly deals with various funding related issues, management, guest hospitality, and representation. Currently, Ms. Berisha is taking courses to complete her Masters / Postgraduate degree in Contemporary Diplomacy at the University of Malta. In addition, Ms. Berisha also holds a Masters of Arts Diploma in Media and Communication from the University of Westminster, London, UK. Her Bachelor Degree is in English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Philosophy and Philology, University of Prishtina Kosovo. Ms. Berisha’s project is designed to focus on creating an image campaign for Kosovo, which will be mainly based on internet through a website and promoted in various social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and other similar sites. Based upon success of such a campaign in the first six months, as well as dependant on fundraising opportunities, the campaign may include other media tools as a future step. The main goal of this project is to have other nations get to know Kosovo in a better and more informed fashion. Ms. Berisha’s project aimed in finding questions that these government have about Kosovo and, finding the answers, and making these answers available for them. While in Washington, DC Vjosa visited InterMedia a research-based consultancy and East West Communications.