OSCE police school hosts Kosovo 2001 Youth Congress
PRISTINA, 25 June 2001 (OSCE) - The OSCE-run Kosovo Police Service School (KPSS) in Vushtrri / Vucitrn is hosting an important gathering of youth groups from all over Kosovo this week.
The 2001 Youth Congress, which will bring together youth NGOs representing many of Kosovo's different communities, is being organized by United Nations Development Programme and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The event is part of the Youth Post-Conflict Participation Programme, which they are managing with support from other organizsations. The congress will get underway on Tuesday and continue until Friday. During the four days, the participants will take part in a comprehensive series of workshops and discussions on the future of the Youth NGO sector. Up to 200 young people, aged between 16 and 20 years, are expected to attend.
"We're very happy to be involved in this event and make our facilities available to the young people who'll be taking part," said Steve Bennett, the director of the KPSS. "The opportunities for young people from the different communities to meet and talk are few and far between in Kosovo today. But the police school is, itself, a multi-ethnic environment and, therefore, a place where they can all interact and get to know each other without fear."
The police school is undoubtedly the only venue in Kosovo, which could host such a huge gathering. Apart from the teaching space, the school boasts a range of other facilities as well. It has a canteen and last year, its dormitories were refurbished and a newly renovated gymnasium was opened.
More than half of those attending this week's congress will be accommodated at the school. Several international and local staff from the police school have also volunteered to organise a number of extra activities for the participants during their stay, including basketball and volleyball tournaments as well as a Bar-B-Que on the final evening. The young people will also have an opportunity to meet several recently appointed local KPS community liaison officers. The officers will be taking part in a training course while the Youth Congress is on.
OSCE is also providing other forms of support for the Youth Congress, including transport and translation.
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For more information please contact Claire Trevena, Spokesperson, OSCE Mission in Kosovo, tel.: (+381-38) 500-162 ext. 260, mobile: +377 (044) 500-150; e-mail: press@omik.org, website: www.osce.org/kosovo