Our Work

In the second part of the 90’s, an idea started taking shape—a pressing need to establish a proactive umbrella institution in Kosovo dedicated to galvanizing the development of civil society. Despite numerous challenges, a dedicated group of intellectuals and activists tirelessly worked to bring this idea forward. Their dream became a reality following the donors’ conference in Sweden in June 1998, culminating in the establishment of the Center for the Development of Civil Society (CeDeCis) in Prishtina in October of 1998. This institution would later evolve into the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF), formally registered in December 1999.

Over the past 25 years, we have consistently pursued the creation and development of a participatory democratic society in Kosovo and became the leading organization in supporting the development of civil society in Kosovo, and beyond. We have contributed significantly to evidence-based policymaking, expanded civic space, promoted champions of democracy, financially supported 750+ civic initiatives with over 30 million euros, and have enriched with knowledge and skills thousands of civil society activists in Kosovo and the Western Balkans through 1,100+ training sessions.

In the period 2024-2028 we will work towards the strategic goal of meaningful and sustainable engagement of civil society, contributing to our vision to see Kosovo become a prosperous, inclusive, and democratic society with an advanced process of EU integration. This will be pursued through engaging for civil society to have adequate access to a diverse set of financial resources along with the necessary capacity to make proper use of those resources, as well as to build civil society engagement based on a strong and legitimate support base that is grounded in clear and demonstrable relations with the people on whose behalf or for whose benefit the engagement takes place. Also, we will continue to engage to create preconditions that relate to an enabling environment for civil society, namely for civil society to be allowed and encouraged to freely operate and use its democratic rights to engage in public processes.

Key Achievements

Success Stories

Others about us!

Team

Taulant Hoxha

Taulant Hoxha

Kontakt: taulant.hoxha@kcsfoundation.org

Taulant Hoxha serves as the Executive Director of KCSF from September 2018. Since February 2007, when he started at KCSF, he has been engaged in numerous KCSF programs and initiatives, in particular those related to grants, research and advocacy.

Taulant is a civil society activist for over two decades and main areas of expertise are related to civil society development, in particular non-profit law, citizen participation in policy making, civil society-government cooperation, as well as civil society funding. He has also vast experience in design and management of civil society support and funding programs. He authored numerous studies related to civil society and led many initiatives to protect or advance civic space in Kosovo and the Western Balkans region. He has served as the Chair of Board of CiviKos Platform for over 10 years.
Currently serves as the Chair of Board of the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN).

Before KCSF he has been engaged in various civic organizations and initiatives in Kosovo, as well as the Council of Europe. He has graduated in Political Science.

Dren Puka

Dren Puka

Kontakt: dren.puka@kcsfoundation.org

Dren Puka is the Research and Advocacy Director at Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF). He has over 10 years of experience in designing empirical and theoretical frameworks of analysis, developing and conducting research projects that aim to produce evidence to shape public policies through greater civic participation. In working with numerous organizations and participating in key policy initiatives related to civil society development, Dren’s work is particularly focused on producing an environment that seeks to accentuate diverse and marginal voices to shape a reflexive and inclusive public sphere. He completed his graduate studies in Educational Policy and Leadership, with a specialization in Research Methods from the University of Rochester.  

Edona Krasniqi

Edona Krasniqi

Kontakt: edona.krasniqi@kcsfoundation.org

Edona Krasniqi has been with KCSF for 7 years and currently serves as the Director of the Re-Granting Department. She has more than 15 years of combined working experience in the non-governmental, academic, and private institutions. She has worked as a researcher and evaluator with local and international organizations and authored papers on education and civil society. She holds an MSc in Economics, specializing in Economics and Politics from the University of Freiburg. She also holds a degree in Management and Public Policy from the American University in Kosovo and a graduate certificate in Education Policy from Georgetown University. Her interests are in political economy, and revolve around exploring the intersection between economic systems, socio-economic inequality, civic participation, and the pressing ecological crisis of our time.

Rron Zajmi

Rron Zajmi

Ahmet Rushiti

Ahmet Rushiti

Kontakt: ahmet.rushiti@kcsfoundation.org

Ahmet Rushiti has more than 16 years of experience working in international and local organizations that promote inclusiveness and civic participation. Project management, involvement in community mobilization, advocacy, capacity building for CSOs, and policy-making are some of his key expertise areas. Ahmet has also gained great experience and knowledge of the local context by working with political parties, youth, local and national authorities. He has been involved in monitoring and observing elections, monitoring the work of the Kosovo Assembly, and working with communities and constituencies in local and rural areas. In addition, he has co-authored studies on voter behavior, municipal transparency, and community inclusion.

Nita Bicurri

Nita Bicurri

Contact: nita.bicurri@kcsfoundation.org

Nita Bicurri serves as the Chief of Party for the Citizen Engagement Activity, bringing over 10 years of extensive experience in international development and democratization processes. Her primary focus is on fostering inclusive decision-making processes and creating meaningful opportunities for diverse voices to contribute to the advancement of democracy in Kosovo. Throughout her tenure, Nita has collaborated with civil society organizations, political parties, government entities, media, and the business community to ensure an inclusive and democratic policy making processes, efforts aim to provide active involvement opportunities for women and youth in political and public life. Nita’s expertise lies in project design, management, and evaluation. She holds a graduate degree in International Development Administration and a Certificate of Advancement Studies in Civil Society Organizations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, New York. Additionally, she earned a degree in Political Science from Cornell College in Iowa.

Teuta Purrini Xhabali

Teuta Purrini Xhabali

Kontakt: teuta.p.xhabali@kcsfoundation.org

Teuta Purrini has over 20 years of working experience in various sectors including banking, academia, international and local organizations. Teuta is graduated in Economics and has a long-standing experience and knowledge of the economic environment and civil society sector in Kosovo. Teuta has proven programme and project management experience and contributed to numerous analysis and research documents, project design and project evaluations.

Yllka Hoxha

Yllka Hoxha

Kontakt: yllka.hoxha@kcsfoundation.org

Yllka Hoxha serves as the Finance Manager at KCSF, where she oversees financial operations for the Citizen Engagement Activity. With over 11 years of experience in civil society, she has held roles in finance, human resources, and administration. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Marketing from the University of Prishtina. Yllka is a member of The Society of Certified Accountants and Auditors of Kosovo (SCAAK), holding the title of Certified Accountant, and she is currently progressing towards obtaining certification as an Auditor.

Vjollca Sllamniku

Vjollca Sllamniku

Contact: vjollca.sllamniku@kcsfoundation.org

Vjollca Sllamniku is a senior finance officer at KCSF. Since November 2006 when she started working at KCSF, Vjollca has been responsible for the organization’s financial management and accounting, while until 2015 she also led the administration team.

Previously, she worked as a Finance Officer at the NGO ODA (Organization for Development Activities) during the years 2003-2006, as well as at Oxfam GB – Office in Kosovo during the years 1999-2003.

Blerta Aliu

Blerta Aliu

Kontakt: blerta.aliu@kcsfoundation.org

Blerta Aliu has over 12 years of professional experience in the field of communication, Public Relations and media. She started her career at the daily newspaper Koha Ditore, where she worked as a journalist in the security and political sector for almost five years. She has continued her engagement in the field of public relations in the public sector, private and civil society organizations. She was engaged as a media and PR advisor at the Ministry of European Integration of the Republic of Kosovo for nearly two years, then she worked as a PR and communication officer at the Kosova Democratic Institute /Transparency International Kosovo for over three years and then as a media advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo. Simultaneously, since 2017, Blerta is an teaching assistant in the Journalism  Department at the University of Pristina. From February 2022, she joined the KCSF team, initially as a project officer to continue her contribution as a public relations and communication coordinator.

Blerta is a PhD candidate in Media and Communication at the South East European University. She completed Bachelor and Master studies in the field of Journalism and Public Relations at the University of Pristina. She is the winner of several local and international awards for journalism in the field of human rights, children and education. She is also the author and co-author of many analytical reports as well as academic papers which she has published and presented at International Scientific Conferences in the field of Media and Communication.

Current Board

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Ardita Zejnullahu

Ardita Zejnullahu

Ardita Zejnullahu serves as Executive Director of the Association of Broadcast Media in Kosovo – AMPEK. She is an accomplished media professional with over 14 years extensive experience across the full spectrum of media freedom and communications laws from the regulatory and private commercial perspective as well as public sector perspective.

Ardita holds a BA degree in Economics & Management and MA in International Law from the University of Pristina; M.Stud research degree

(Program in Comparative Media Law and Policy) from the University of Oxford; LLM in Comparative European and International Law from the European University Institute in Florence and MSx in Leadership from the Stanford University.

Prior to joining AMPEK, Ardita has worked as a Financial Manager for Save the Children in Kosovo and as a Financial Advisor for NCSC/DPK Consulting; USAID implementing partner on court administration project in Kosovo.

She served as a Board member for several civil society organizations in Kosovo.

Filloreta Bytyçi

Filloreta Bytyçi

Filloreta Bytyçi’s background is Law and she holds an MA on Contemporary European Studies from Sussex University (UK). She has extensive experience working for various donor projects in the areas of community development, civil society, media and public administration. Since 2004, as a consultant, she supports policy development and planning reforms at the Government of Kosovo. Currently she is the Deputy Team Leader/Policy Development Specialist for the Sida funded project to support Capacity Development in the Field of Policy Development and Coordination in Kosovo, providing advice and support to the Government Coordination Secretariat staff in the Office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo and to the line ministries, to continuously increase their capacity for policy development and coordination. Her professional background lies considerably also in the area of media. She was media law adviser for the USAID/REX Independent Media Development Program on matters related to media law and media regulations. In addition, she acted as an advisor to the two local media and journalists’ associations. She was twice nominated and appointed by the Assembly as the member of the Council of the Independent Media Commission of Kosovo.

She also contributed to the development of several studies: OECD/SIGMA Regional Comparative Study on Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), Swiss Intercooperation Kosovo Feasibility Study on Municipal Capacity Development System for Kosovo, Sida Study Outlining Possible Areas and Issues for Support to

Public Administration in Albania and Kosovo 2014-2020,Sida Study Assessment of Options for Continued Swedish Support to a Pluralistic Civil Society in Serbia, Kosovo, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina and GIZ Diagnostic report on the areas of policy coordination, strategic planning, legislation, management of European Integration and implementation of functional reviews in the Government of Kosovo.

Kristof Bender

Kristof Bender

Kristof Bender is ESI’s Deputy Chairman. He leads various ESI research projects on EU enlargement and on South Eastern Europe. Educated in sociology in Vienna and Paris, he has worked in South East Europe in various capacities since 1997, including managing higher education projects in Bosnia for the World University Service, as Attaché for Humanitarian Affairs in the Austrian Embassy in Belgrade, as a researcher for the International Centre for Migration Policy Development and as a consultant for various institutions, including the Austrian Federal Chancellery, DFID and SIDA. Part of the ESI team since early 2000, Kristof has been living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, and is currently based in Vienna.

Anamari Repic

Anamari Repic

Anamari Repic is correspondent for Radio Television of Kosovo from Belgrade. She has been for twenty years in journalism, communication and media management. She graduated with Faculty of Teacher Education and completed Master studies in journalism. From 2010 – 2016, in two terms, she was the Deputy Director General of RTK, when she participated in the establishment of a TV channel in the Serbian language and the development of minority communities’ programs. For almost ten years she was working as correspondent of Radio Free Europe from Pristina, and she is vice president of the Board of the Press Council of Kosovo. She was a scholar of the fellowship program for women leaders in Washington. Anamari deals with the issues of media self-regulation, women’s rights and journalistic training.



Armend Bekaj

Armend Bekaj

Armend Bekaj works as Senior Programme Officer with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) in Stockholm, Sweden. He is part of the core team that publishes the Global State of Democracy report, providing measurements and analysis on democracy for 162 countries around the world. Armend has more than 15 years of experience with international organizations and research institutes. His expertise lies on good governance and democratization, peace and conflict, DDR and security, and political integration of ex-combatants in transitory societies. Over the years, he has worked and collaborated with the OSCE, USAID, UNDP and a range of other regional, international or civil society organizations.

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Former Board Members

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Mimika Loshi, Member of the Board (2019-2022)
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Muhamet Arifi, Member of the Board (2017-2018)
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Stevo Muk, Member of the Board (2017-2019)
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Nita Luci, Member of the Board (2008-2022)
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Goran Laziq, Member of the Board (2003-2014)
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Current Donors

Former Donors

Networking

KCSF is a member of the following networks:

Audit Reports

Document List

Internal Documents

List of documents

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Logo & Branding​

KCSF over the years

Preliminary projects

Our Work
Key Achievements
Team
Donors
Documents
KCSF over the years
Projects