Presentation in Vienna on "Kosovo's future and the shadows of its past"

Together with the Austrian foundation DIE ERSTE österreichische Spar-Casse Privatstiftung, ESI organized a presentation on "Kosovo's future and the shadows of its past" (Kosovos Zukunft und die Schatten der Vergangenheit) in Vienna on 15 May. ESI and IKS, a young Kosovar think-tank, presented their latest research on economic development, identity and the protection of cultural heritage in Kosovo.

ESI president Gerald Knaus, senior analyst Verena Knaus and IKS director Besa Shahini spoke on current problems of Kosovo's economy which is marked by negative economic growth, subsistence economy and external subsidies. For Kosovo's capital Pristina they identified severe governance failures, particularly an approach characterised as "utopian planning" that has already led to rampant illegal construction, deteriorating infrastructure and unreliable municipal services. This is accompanied by an almost complete neglect of sites listed as national historical heritage.