Besa Luci in conversation with Ilir Gashi and Aulonë Kadriu.

In our last episode of the first season of Other Talking Points, we are revisiting the topic of travel.

Not long ago, when we recorded our first episode, we talked about travel in the region and what it tells us about our shared past, our current sense of belonging and our understanding of one another. 

One aspect of the conversation was Kosovars' long isolation, a result of the EU’s visa regime. For years, practically the only places Kosovars could travel to without going through a dehumanizing visa application process were neighboring countries.

Change seems to be underway. On April 18, the European Parliament decided to lift visa requirements for Kosovars starting in January 2024, nearly 15 years after other countries in the region were granted this right.

What will Kosovars do come January? Will everyone leave? Who will stay? 

There are rising fears that young people will clear out as soon as they can. In advance, some are pleading for them to stay. In a recent blog call K2.0 asked young Kosovars the questions: What keeps you in Kosovo? Do we owe it to Kosovo to stay? Will travel start feeling more like a normal activity rather than an escape? 

In anticipation of the publication of these blogs in June, two guests joined us to discuss some of the responses we got from young Kosovars and also to explore our relationship to travel. 

Ilir Gashi works at the intersection of media, activism, art and technology. He was a guest in the first episode of Other Talking Points and he wrote an article last year for K2.0 titled “The Alternative Balkan Postal Service," which was recently shortlisted for the European Press Prize for Distinguished Reporting.

Aulonë Kadriu is an editor at K2.0 and one of the producers of Other Talking Points. She was the author of "We are in a real ghetto," K2.0's investigation on visa processing, and is the lead editor on our recent blog call.

Other Talking Points is produced by Besa Luci, Aulonë Kadriu and Gentiana Paçarizi. The show will resume in September. Make sure to follow K2.0 on social media or sign up for our newsletter to get all the updates. 

Music and sound mix by PUG musik.

This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.