General information
Project title: The Barabar Initiative: Enhancing community and trust-building dialogue in Kosovo – Phase 3
Duration: 8 months
Implementation period: August 15, 2025 – April 15, 2026
Implementation partner: NGO Integra
Supported by: UNMIK (United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo)
Status: Ongoing
Project objectives:
The project aims to support the operations of the Barabar Centre, scaling up its engagement and bringing in a wider range of societal actors, including grassroots groups, youth and women’s initiatives, artists, and community leaders from all parts of Kosovo. Established in 2023 by NGO CASA and NGO Integra as a UNMIK initiative, the Barabar Centre has emerged as a vital platform for civic dialogue and intercultural exchange, hosting over 220 events with more than 17,000 participants.
The overall objective is to enhance direct contact and exchange between communities in Kosovo and at the regional level – involving civil society, academia, media, as well as youth and women’s groups – thus contributing to the prospects of genuine and durable peace. The project addresses key recommendations from the Trust-Building Forum held in Thessaloniki in November 2023, including strengthening the participation group and calls for inclusive cross-community initiatives to enhance social cohesion and trust-building.
Activities:
- Supporting the operational capacity of the Barabar Centre to function as a versatile, inclusive venue for civic, cultural, and community-driven initiatives (rent, utilities, maintenance, facility management)
- Barabar Language Hub – identifying and translating literary or artistic works by emerging writers and intellectuals from diverse communities in Kosovo
- Barabar-She Club – organizing working groups focused on institutional responses to domestic violence and femicide, drafting a joint policy initiative aimed at advancing gender equality
- Barabar Voices – organizing four public debates bringing together academics, community leaders, civic activists, and other prominent individuals to discuss key societal challenges and interethnic relations
- Annual research “Trust Index” – producing the annual edition of the Trust Index report on the state of interethnic relations in Kosovo, measuring trust-building indicators across communities
