Our volunteer Janneke Francissen was in Kosovo for a three week Job shadowing Visit at the Mitrovica Rock School. In these blogs, she writes about her experiences.

It has been a week and a half since I left Kosovo, full of good memories and inspiration for new Spartak-projects in the region. I visited the Mitrovica Rock School through a Jobshadowing Visit, funded by the Youth in Action programme. The aim of a Jobshadowing Visit is exchanging good practices between partner organizations, learn from each other’s working methods and, of course, develop future projects together.

Unlike most organizations active in Mitrovica, the Mitrovica Rock School focusses on the use of music as a tool for reconciliation and intercultural dialogue. During my stay in Mitrovica, I worked together with the project managers of both branches of the school. It was impressive to see how motivated they are to create a positive change in Mitrovica and how they empower the city’s biggest demographic group, youth. I found out that working in a sensitive environment like Mitrovica isn’t easy. Due to the current political situation, the project managers cannot cross the Ibar river which divides the city in two parts. They mainly communicate through Skype and e-mail.

During my stay in Mitrovica, I researched the possibilities to organize an edition of the Balkan Streets Festival in the city. At the moment, there are no cultural activities whatsoever organized in the north and the south part of Mitrovica at the same time. The only exception was the official opening of the Mitrovica Rock School. I spoke with a lot of local organizations, musicians and festival-organizers. For me, it was surprising that there are a lot of initiatives going on. 7 Arte, a cultural organization based in the southern part of the city, organizes the Green Festival. The north part of town has an annual jazz and blues festival. I hope to organize a festival on both sides of the river next year, in cooperation with local civil society organizations, musicians and volunteers.

At the end of this month, we will already organize a small activity in Mitrovica. Groove Embassy and Dyzack, the two bands that got a grant from The Hague Music Export to tour the Balkans, will also visit the Mitrovica Rock School. They will be in Mitrovica on the 25th and the 26th of June. The bands will give an amazing show together with some of the Rock School’s young bands. Next to their gig, they will also facilitate workshops for the students of both branches of the Mitrovica Rock School. Check Platform Spartak’s website and Facebook page to see updates from Mitrovica!