Meet our new member: Interview with Besarta Pllana

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During the last Political Youth Network General Assembly, five new organizations became PYN members! One of them is the Democratic Party of Kosovo, so we did an interview with Besarta Pllana who was there as their representative. Read her answers to our questions below!

Dear Besarta, please introduce yourself to our readers!

Hi, I’m Besarta Pllana. I’m 22 and I’m doing my master’s in International Relations and Diplomacy at the University of Pristina. I am working as an intern at the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo for two years now, previously I was in different departments such as: in Commission of Economy, and the Department of International Relations and presently I am working in the Commission of Foreign Affairs. I prefer working in Parliament despite working in other public institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. It is easy for me to work there, nonetheless any idea that working in Parliament is like that. I am part of the Democratic Party of Kosova.

Look back at the start of your political activism. What was your motivation? What was the reason behind your decision to be actively engaged in politics?

I started my activities when my studies for my Bachelor’s ended. Then I saw that I’m ready to involve in political activities and to contribute to the community, especially to the youth because problems are understood the best only by the one who has suffered or is suffering them still. 

What are the most valuable lessons you learned through political activism? What skills and knowledge helped you to acquire?

I learned a lot from this experience, especially one thing that I got and try to practice every day is to know how to communicate and approach people. This is such a valuable lesson because not every person is the same and you should be able how to try to understand and deal with them.

Share with us one memory, anecdote, or a story from your political experience that you cherish the most.

I was a candidate to be a part of the parliament of the municipality of Fushe Kosove. As a young person in a completely unknown situation for me, I managed to come out the third winner in the list of competitors, but because of the 30% quota of the representation of both sexes, another man got that position instead of me who got the votes. Even though this happened to me as a young person in politics and as a woman too, this does not mean that I had to stop my activities and my purpose to give the message to the other young women out there that you can reach your goals without the help of, in my case, the quota of that 30%. I got the votes of the people who believed in me and this is what made me feel good and appreciated.  

Why did you decide to join the Political Youth Network? Have you previously had experience in regional cooperation? What does regional cooperation mean to you?

I have not been part of this kind of experience before, this is my first time as part of regional cooperation and so far I think it is such a needed and good opportunity to be able to cooperate with other states who are your neighbors or close to your region. Regional cooperation means that I have the chance to talk about different topics that are important in my country and see the input of other countries on those topics; we get to share our experiences and goals for the future regarding our activism in our states. 

Nowadays we are faced with global challenges that require much solidarity and responsibility. What is your desired vision for the region in the next 10 years? What message do you have for young politically active young people in the region?

In terms of solidarity and responsibility, our countries should be ready to cooperate and act in a supportive way to each other when it comes to helping each other by exchanging ideas on different aspects such as: sports, culture, economics etc. 

My message to the young activists would be to always be confident that you can do whatever you think is right no matter the hardships and whatever could be on your way. Also, try to be cooperative with every person and do not make differences regarding color, religion, ethnicity, and other possible differences. 

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