The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) has been committed to supporting and promoting the rights and interests of women and girls throughout Kosovo for decades.
We already have 189 organizations with which we work closely in order to accomplish our mission. We, at KWN, work daily to further strengthen the feminist movement in Kosovo, including more activists in our quest for equality and social justice.
Over the years, KWN has made efforts to provide opportunities for volunteers from Kosovo, as well as from around the world, to engage directly in internships. Recently, among numerous programs and initiatives, KWN has developed a more specific program for volunteer engagement, which aims to establish a sustainable mechanism for volunteering in KWN, but also directly to some of our 189 member organizations across Kosovo.
The goal of this program is to include more activists on the feminist agenda. The program also provides volunteers with the opportunity to take a closer look at the work of small women’s rights organizations, their work in the community, and the needs of women at the local level. Volunteers will help raise gender equality issues and increase women’s participation in public life and decision-making processes, and beyond.
We believe that volunteering strengthens participation and cooperation, as well as engages young people in active citizenship. Volunteering can help produce a transformative effect in society by reducing social and economic inequalities. Further, it helps build solidarity and contributes to build a strong bond in the community. It is extremely important to expand the scope of engagement beyond market relations and increase appreciation for unpaid work.
Volunteers are invaluable to our organization and their work is highly respected. They enrich our projects and activities with their contribution. They help us expand the scope of our programs and improve our projects. This program gives individuals the opportunity to get involved and become stakeholders in the movement for justice and social equality. Voluntary work is done voluntarily with the desire to contribute to a common good but it should under no circumstances replace paid work.
Erin Brown shared her impression of working with KWN, appreciating the expertise and lessons learned from working with KWN.
“The opportuntiy to volunteer at KWN has given me first-hand experience on the importance of civil society and feminist activism in public advocacy.” Said Erid Brown, volunteer at KWN.
“During my time at KWN, I have worked on meaningful projects and have learned about the impact of Kosovo civil society activists throughout the country. I am forever grateful to my esteemed KWN colleagues for giving me the opportunity to learn about, and work on feminist issues in Kosovo.” she added.
Recently, KWN has conducted two successful field campaigns thanks to the contribution of volunteers. In 2019, about 200 volunteers for five days (September 25-29) met with citizens door to door in over 15 municipalities of Kosovo, including Serb municipalities, to discuss with women and men voters the importance of voting more women in the early parliamentary elections held on October 6, 2019. Whereas, in 2021, about 80 volunteers, for five days (October 11-15), talked to citizens in 23 municipalities of Kosovo, again, going door to door, to talk about the importance of equal participation and representation of women in elections.
KWN remains committed to providing as many volunteer opportunities as possible to all interseted. If you’re interested in being a part of our volunteer team, please email us at volunteers@womensnetwork.org
This important program for the engagement of volunteers has recently been supported through the four-year initiative “Strengthening Women’s Participation in Politics” by the European Union (EU) Office in Kosovo, and continues to receive support from the Austrian Development Agency ( ADA).
