Lauren Hanna is in her final year at the University of Washington, studying Public Health with a focus on epidemiology and women’s health. She interned this summer with the Kosovo Women’s Network, furthering a myriad of different projects but focusing on the completion of the Gender Analysis.

            This project is part of the EU GAP II Action Plan, in order to draft concrete recommendations to Kosovar Institutions and the European Union office in relation to disparities between the genders. It also looks at the intersection of gender and ethnicity, calling into question some of the deep-rooted problems Kosovo faces currently.

            Her favorite part of the experience was working alongside some of the most amazing and inspiring women she has ever met. She feels incredibly lucky to have contributed to important research, setting up workshops, and drafting policy briefs/project proposals in a country that is rapidly changing and growing.

            Lauren is passionate about gender equity, and making sure that women have the resources to meet their full potentials. She was becoming disheartened with the NGO community, seeing that most of their grant money was going back into the organizations and salaries rather than the community. Then she started working for Kosovar Women’s Network.

“It’s such a blessing to have met the KWN women who are so passionate about what they are doing, and who really care changing the lives of women in their communities. It is rare to find such a prominent CSO who has remained true to their core values and beliefs, and who put 110% of what they get, back into the country.”

She looks forward to remaining on the Gender Analysis project until its completion while she returns back to school, and hopes to return to Kosovo sometime in the near future.