Photos and Captions by Lara Haase

On June 1, 2010 after fundraising and meticulously planning, we finally arrived at a tiny airport in Prishtina, Kosovo. From our first few moments in Kosovo, the organic image I craved and our partner needed began to form. On the cab drive from the airport to our new home at the Professor’s Guest House, we were met with generosity, red poppies and yellow wild flowers swaying in the lush green landscape of hills and mountains. Imagine our delight when we discovered we would be working in a beautiful land with even more beautiful and generous people.

It was fresh — in more ways than one. The country is full of young entrepreneurs inventing ways to excel and build their country into all that it can be. Not to discount the work that still must be done, but it is truly amazing all that has been achieved after only two years of independence.

Our main task was to interview Kosovars about the Ipko card, a prepaid debit card that provides financial services previously unavailable to them.  These services include the ability to shop online shopping and a functionality called Yap, an affordable and fair way to transfer money through cell phones. In addition to all that, our partners who have never set foot in Kosovo needed a first-hand account of the community they are servicing.

We had to find a way to distill and condense complex financial issues like remittances, foreign direct investors, idiosyncrasies in international banking programs and more into a concise Clinton Global Initiative video. With the help of a translator, we worked off a list of over 350 Ipko card users, calling each individually to set up interviews.

When we made those cold calls, they were answered with warm interest that would often result in a meeting — what we called a “date” — over macchiatos in one of the country’s numerous cafes. We did this all over Kosovo, from Prishtina, the capital city, to Peja, to Prizren and beyond. People were eager to help in our goal of documenting their stories and sharing what we found with the world.

Our stay came to a close after a month of diligent and life altering work. Now we’re back in the States, editing videos, writing articles and posting pictures all in an effort to share the image we have of Kosovo.

To me, as a newly independent nation, Kosovo exists in a unique area of growth. It is a space of young entrepreneurs creating new ways to support their local economy while pushing their roots into the global economy. This garden is in need of better caretakers, though, to remove the weeds of nepotism that scourge some aspects of business and government in Kosovo — a sentiment shared with us by Kosovars nearly everyday.

With new political leadership and more foreign direct investment from companies like Rev, the weeds will recede. Through our documentation and dissemination of images and truths with platforms like the CGI conference, Kosovo will continue to grow and attract more companies to invest in their country — a land ripe with possibilities.

Written by Kara Mckenzie, Producer of the UT Chapter of Students of the World.

“Everything in moderation … even moderation.”

Mann has a long list of accomplishments on his resume including, but most certainly not limited to, reporting for the Fort Worth Star Telegram and Dallas Times Herald, lecturing at the University of Texas and press secretary to U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

On top of printing us a handout titled “What I have learned in 46 years and additional counsel I will share which, hopefully, if allowed will make life easier for each of you than it sometimes has been for Prof. Bob” he gave us a world of wisdom. Out of the multiple clever and honest stories and advice he had to share with us, this is the quote that stood out most to me.

“You don’t need to be the brightest bulb on the block, but you’ve got to know stuff.”

What Mann meant by this statement was you don’t have to be book smart, but you need to be informed. What he meant was to diversify yourself by getting the entire story and socializing with people that are the exact opposite of you. What he meant was to be honest, have integrity and try.

Shpend Ahmeti, economics professor, executive director of policy analysis group Gap and owner of a sports bar in Pristina, provided us with an important perspective as an economics expert. Here are a few choice questions that he helped us answer during our stay in Kosovo.

Students of the World: What does it mean to be in transition in Kosovo?

Shpend Ahmeti: It means that we basically Kosovo wants to have quality of life like everyone else in the region, like everyone else in Europe. We don’t want nothing more or nothing less than any other normal country. I think the people and population of Kosovo have struggled for a long time to be where we are today so basically we just want to have dreams like everyone else does. Not just in the Balkans but in Europe in general.

SOW: What are some unique aspects that allow Kosovo to navigate the obstacles of a country in transition?

SA: I would say that the biggest asset that Kosovo has is our youth … The youth has] the energy that you want to see in a young country, where they really want to give their contribution for success. If the people believe in the future of the country; if the people want their country to succeed  — this is going to happen one way or another, regardless of the obstacles along the way.

SOW: Where do you draw this optimism from?

SA: It’s probably because of the life that we lived in the past. When you compare Kosovo today to where it was in the ‘90s it’s a 180 … degrees shift … You have to get that energy because when you lived in those difficulties; when you lived through conflict; when you lived through intervention; when you lived through international protectorate; when you lived through all these things at such a young age, of course you are going to have the energy. And now you are just trying to show to everyone else that you are normal.