Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports partners with UNDP to renovate select cultural heritage sites in Janjevë/o

Improving the quality of life in remote communities is directly related to the survival and enhancement of their culture, built heritage, and landscapes. Conservation of these places creates a spirit of home by connecting generations, including Diaspora, which reinforces a sense of belonging. But these unique places and their values are extremely fragile - and thus must be vigorously protected.

The town of Janjevë/Janjevo is an old Kosovo habitat facing a loss of its cultural heritage in parallel with socio-economic problems and dwindling population.

To address these challenges, in the framework of the Financial Agreement for IPA funds 2020, between Kosovo and the European Union, the field of Cultural Heritage is included. This area includes the implementation of works to preserve and strengthen the tourist infrastructure of heritage sites, especially through investments in tourism infrastructure, assistance for institutional development of tourism and professional assistance for investments that will increase the supply of tourism products.

Support for Tourism and Cultural Heritage for the Janjevë/Janjevo project is implemented through indirect management with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In this direction, today in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS), a cooperation agreement was signed with UNDP in Kosovo, for the protection of Janjevë/Janjevo cultural heritage, for the improvement of living conditions of the inhabitants and the promotion of cultural tourism.

The restoration will include physical interventions in selected houses in the historic centre of Janjevë/Janjevo and the development of a cultural offering which will contribute to Janjevë/Janjevo’s socio-economic revival.

Minister Hajrulla Çeku stressed the importance of coordination and cooperation for the protection and development of cultural heritage, as a potential for socio-economic development: "The protection of cultural heritage, as a common value which contributes to strengthening our sense of belonging and identity, should be treated as a complex process that begins with legal protection, professional evaluation and physical intervention. This complex process continues with human capacity building, awareness of the importance and role of heritage, to efficient management mechanisms that will ensure socio-economic revival and sustainable local development. In this regard, we are pleased that the project for the protection of Janjevo's cultural heritage includes all components."

UNDP Resident Representative in Kosovo, Maria Suokko, spoke about the common goals of this partnership: "We are very excited to continue the partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports in support of Janjevë/o’s socio-economic revival. Our upcoming joint work which will also be funded by the EU will promote tangible and intangible cultural heritage as a bond for social cohesion through community engagement. We aim to foster an environment for women and youth to develop skills and gain work experience leading to economic empowerment. We greatly value the strong partnership with the Ministry as demonstrated by this financing agreement and look forward to working together with all partners to build back forward though preservation and promotion of Janjevë/o’s rich cultural heritage. I would also like to thank the Municipality of Lipjan for their excellent cooperation."

The financial support of MCYS for this project is in the amount of 1.4 million euros, while the implementation is planned for the years 2021-2024.