Back to Blog Digital Kosovo

March 2, 2015

Helping Kosovo through the online Embassy

Being a consultant, former employee and partner of numerous multi-national corporations, I have always wondered why something as simple as adding Kosovo to a list of countries online is not being done by many multi-nationals, universities and other legal entities.

In four continents I have stressed the importance of including Kosovo, its people and its market in both online and offline lists of corporations, underlining the benefits of inclusion and the necessity for companies to remain unaffected by deeply political issues such as the non-recognition call led by Serbia and its few international allies. First and foremost, before partnership and investment, comes recognition, on which it is possible for every one of us to help.

More often than not, non-inclusion of Kosovo in online and offline lists happens due to technical and administrative reasons. Some entities simply have not thought of ever updating their lists, while some others might even be unaware of the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the creation of new states out of its former members. In surprisingly many cases, companies still list Yugoslavia instead of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia and Serbia.

Sadly, though this non-inclusion often has roots in lack of information, it still manages to cause headaches and damage to Kosovo and its people. It makes it difficult to purchase goods and services, to apply for university, and even to properly identify ourselves both online and offline. Unfortunately, non-inclusion does also result in cancelled orders, orders marked as potential fraud, or in citizens being unable to apply, set up accounts and join various communities, universities and countless other entities.

What Digital Kosovo is doing cannot be described in one sentence. Digital Kosovo is an initiative, a platform, an “online Embassy”, hence a very powerful tool to support Kosovo and its people. Thanks to this brilliant initiative, volunteers like me can easily send 4-5 emails within a few short minutes while chatting with friends on Facebook, reading the news or browsing for other internet content. The text is well-written, the contact email addresses are linked, and the process of lobbying for recognition of Kosovo by entities like Amazon or eBay is a process taking up a few clicks.

Thanks to the work of Digital Kosovo and its team and sponsors, it is now possible for all of us to be our country’s ambassadors without having to leave our offices or living rooms. Digital Kosovo is giving us the chance to reach out to the world, tell them about our country, and to ultimately become stakeholders in the process of worldwide recognition of our beautiful and beloved country.

I strongly encourage all fellow citizens to join Kosovo’s online Embassy and to actively support our country by spending a few short minutes and clicks. This is not just a youth activity, and though I am extremely busy most of the time, I always find myself spending 5-10 minutes online during which I can send a few extra emails via Digital Kosovo and help my country by doing this.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit http://www.digitalkosovo.org/ and join Kosovo’s online diplomacy! All you need to have is five minutes of free time, access to the internet and a little bit of affection for your country.

Senton Kaçaniku

Consultant, entrepreneur and activist.

You can follow me on:

@senton_k, www.facebook.com/Senton.Kacaniku, and www.Kacaniku.info