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The ‘Mirëdita, dobar dan!’ festival in Prishtina

14 – 16 October, 2021

‘Mirëdita, dobar dan!’ festival in Prishtina was opened on 14 October 2021 with the performance of Belgrade based dancers, Loakiin and Sunnoka, followed by the rhythmic mix of DJ Jovijah. The trio were performing in Prishtina and the Kosovar public for the first time.
The ‘Mirëdita, dobar dan!’ festival in Prishtina 8
© forumZFD Kosovo

The opening was followed with remarks of the organizers from both, Kosovo and Serbia, who welcomed the audience and, who among other, stated that “… we dream of a moment when Albanians and Serbs would communicate with each other and find solutions to the problems of the past. Not the likes of communication that we see between Vuicic and Kurti, but a real, sincere and decent communication, where we jointly find solutions to the problems of the past and present". The first festival night ended with the screening of Danijela Štajnfeld’s documentary ‘Hold me right’ that brings the story of sexual violence through intimate testimonies of survivors and perpetrators of rape.

The second festival day started with the promotion of the book ‘The other Serbia: Bogdan Bogdanovic’ authored by Shkelzen Gashi, that was followed with the debate titled ‘Which is the other Serbia’. The promotion of the book brought the story, predictions and the activity of Bogdan Bogdanovic, a famous architect, lecturer and intellectual of Serbia, while the debate explored the idea of what the other Serbia is/could be in relation to the views of Kosovo Albanians and Serbian anti-oppression and anti-war movements. The book was promoted through a conversation between Rron Gjinovci, the moderator, and Shkelzen Gashi, the book author. The debate that followed were presentations and exchanges between Shkelzen Gashi, Shkelzen Maliqi, Veran Matic, and Sofija Todorova. 

The evening of second festival day brought the performance of two Serbian pianists, Branka Parlić and Nataša Penezić, whose plays were warmly expected by the Kosovo audience.

The third day of ‘Mirëdita, dobar dan!’ festival started unusually and unpredictably with organizers publicly pointing out to the threats that young Serbian journalist, Pero Jovovic, had received after his reporting on the festival activities in Prishtina. The organizers called on politicians to react and protect journalists in their work and to condemn hatred and violence that keeps deepening antagonistic inter-ethnic ruptures.

The third festival day was subject to promotion, discussion and exhibition on ‘Killing Culture’. The art faculty gallery hosted guests, journalists, members of parliament, ministers and ambassadors etc. in the promotion of ‘Killing Culture’ - a photo-monography with writings and essays of Viktor Ivančić and Nemanja Stjepanović, and with photos of the late Hrvoje Polan – through a conversation with Vjera Ruljic, project manager at forumZFD program in Serbia. The promotion was followed by the debate titled ‘Culture as a political tool’ that brought together Dr. Nita Luci, Milan Antonijevic, Maja Stojanovic and Jeton Neziraj, and with Aulone Kadriu’s moderation, jointly conversed on culture as a social, political and cultural construct, and its ideological utilization by political power, propaganda and even war crimes, and how cultural objects over the years, wars and battles between countries were turned into objects of torture.

In this edition, the ‘Mirëdita, dobar dan!’ award was given to Nora Ahmetaj for her contribution in documenting crimes against humanity, empowering marginalized groups, and deepening cooperation between countries that have gone through crises. After receiving the award Ahmetaj said that the only way to express gratitude is to continue working the same as she has done so far.

The festival was closed on 16 October 2021 with the screening Ognjen Glavonic’s movie ‘The Load’ that follows a story about a truck driver who transports an unknown cargo from the south of the country to Belgrade during the NATO bombing in Serbia.

The festival is organized in partnership between Integra, Youth Initiative for Human Rights, Serbia, forumZFD Kosovo program, DAM Festival and Civic Initiatives, and is supported by Kosovo Foundation for Open Society, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Festival “Mirëdita, Dobar Dan!” serves as a non-formal podium, where politicians, representatives of local and central governments, representatives of public institutions, from Kosovo and Serbia meet, get to know, learn, and share their views and perspectives. It aims to establish and maintain new ties between Serbia and Kosovo by persons active in culture, media, civil society, through critical presentations and dialogue on contemporary issues facing the region and promote culture as a way of cooperation and learning about each other.

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