On 20 December 2016, the Swiss Cooperation Office Kosovo (SCO-K), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA) and the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) have awarded Lumbardhi Foundation with the Award for Democracy 2016 as part of the Democratic Society Development project. The award honored Lumbardhi Foundation for the successful initiative on the protection of Lumbardhi Cinema in Prizren.
The Award for Democracy recognizes the contributions of individuals and organizations in various fields impacting the democratization process of Kosovo. The purpose of this Award is to elevate and recognize the contributions of civil society throughout innovative initiatives, their influence and potential to further expand and the audacity of the organization or individual expressed throughout that initiative.
Lumbardhi Foundation was awarded with this prize from the DSP Grants and Awards Board. It had competed along six other nominees. The call for nominations for the Award for Democracy was open for all interested parties, which were entitled to nominate individuals or organizations that they considered to have given outstanding contribution to the democratization of Kosovo.
Lumbardhi Foundation derives from the Initiative on the Protection of Lumbardhi Cinema, as an initiative supported by 58 civil society organizations. These organizations had come together to oppose the destruction of the building of the former cinema and the altering of the function of the Lumbardhi Cinema in Prizren by using all democratic means and methods available towards pursuing this aim. As a result of this engagement and initiative, the process for the liquidation of the Cinema is no longer on the agenda of the Kosovar Privatization Agency. Moreover, the Cinema is put under Interim Protection as a Cultural Heritage Object in Kosovo.
Apart from this award, the DSP project supports projects that have a positive influence in the society and offers institutional support for organizations that press for such changes. Since 2014, 45 projects from all around Kosovo have been supported by this scheme with a budget of 3 million Euros. The project is due to be implemented until the year 2018.
