From 25th to 31st October 2009 a group of researchers from the Faculty for Social Work in Ljubljana visited Kosova with the purpose of exploring the state of social work, social care and welfare services and NGO’s. This project is a part of a research in the small projects funding framework of the IASSW, together with the University of Applied Sciences Regensburg, Germany and University of Prishtina, Kosova.
Kosova was visited by three students of the Faculty for Social Work – Živa Štefanec, Janja Sraka and Monika Bohinec - together we conducted in-depth interviews and informal talks with professionals, members of the department of social pedagogy of the Filozofik fakulteti, employees at the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, members of different NGO’s and societies, as well as employees in different institutions, that provide social care services for different users, such as old persons, children, handicapped, women survivors of violence. In five days we have made over 20 visits.
We talked to representatives of different ethnic communities (besides the majority community also to the Serbian and Roma community) – mostly during our field visits of the poorest areas in proximity of Prishtina, with representatives of organizations working as user movement organizations, with the researchers of the centre for gender studies etc.
In addition to writing up our research findings we are also planning to prepare an exhibition of photographs.