In recent years, the IPKO Foundation has taken on an important role in empowering women and girls in Kosovo. Adelina Qarri-Hoxha, Senior Program Manager, provides insights into their latest campaign, "EmpowerHer!", which aims to improve women's and girls' access to non-formal education, particularly in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). 

"For over a decade, our work at the IPKO Foundation has been dedicated to the empowerment of girls and women in Kosovo. We have noticed that girls from rural areas often face large gaps in non-formal education. Although they receive formal education in schools, there is a lack of opportunities to learn outside educational institutions, which is our focus", explains Qarri-Hoxha. 

Therefore, she said that the 10th edition of the innovation and technology conference "DokuTech", held in 2023, served as a key moment for their newest initiative, as there they met a speaker who shared with them a successful initiative for empowering girls and women from rural areas. And it was this meeting that prompted an important idea for the IPKO Foundation, for what they had in mind for a long time. 

"We had already discussed ways to support girls from rural areas and marginalized communities such as Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian. We tried to find the best way to attract them to different programs, because let's not forget that many of them live in villages that are far from the city and the opportunity to be part of different courses, either because of infrastructure or economic conditions, is very small. After we heard the idea, which was starting to be implemented in a neighboring country, it seemed very attractive to us and we thought, 'Why not implement something similar in Kosovo, but on a larger scale?'" said Qarri-Hoxha. 

Launching the "EmpowerHer!” Campaign

The "EmpowerHer!" campaign was launched with the goal of targeting girls who have never had the opportunity to participate in private courses in STEM fields. The Senior Program Manager at the IPKO Foundation said that in past projects they noticed that especially girls coming from rural areas, from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, have the highest risk of dropping out after finishing primary school. "We want to give these girls the opportunity to explore areas where they can excel, especially in ICT (Information and Communication Technology), which is a highly paid sector," she said. 



Qarri-Hoxha announced that the initiative focuses on girls aged 11-18 from families facing financial difficulties and from rural areas. "Our goal is to reach the most marginalized groups. We contacted companies that provide such services and asked them to offer scholarships to a percentage of girls where they see potential. These companies, especially those with CSR commitments (Corporate Social Responsibility), have agreed to support our goal", explains Qarri-Hoxha. 

Crowdfunding: A New Approach 

To finance this ambitious project, the IPKO Foundation decided to use crowdfunding, a method of fundraising that allows them to receive broad support from the community and not only from traditional donors, which was a new approach for them. According to them, crowdfunding is also a good opportunity to educate the public on the importance of the development of girls from rural areas, as well as to transform this into a traditional form of fundraising.

“We wanted to use the Kosovar crowdfunding platforms, in this case KosovaIDeas. It is important to mention that this is the first crowdfunding campaign that the IPKO Foundation has developed, so everything has started from scratch. In addition to the campaign idea, we aimed to strengthen the existing platforms as well", said Qarri-Hoxha.

According to her, even though the planning was detailed, the campaign faced several challenges. "The first 45 days were extremely stressful. We noticed that people in Kosovo are usually more inclined to contribute to social causes such as health and poverty, rather than educational initiatives. We had to make efforts to convince the community why investing in education is so important", she said.

According to her, the initial objective was to reach the sum of EUR 20,000, which would cover the costs of private courses for the 150 selected girls. "We had to secure this amount to be able to proceed, and thankfully, we achieved the goal. However, the process was not easy. It required not only online promotion, but also direct engagement with people to explain the importance of our mission", says Qarri-Hoxha. 

She added that they had to meet many individuals, in person, to explain to them the fact that this campaign is being implemented with the aim of helping the whole society. “"EmpowerHer!" is not a cause to help just 150 girls, but the whole society. We have had this number from the beginning, as we wanted to include a good percentage of all the municipalities of Kosovo. Of course, this is a small number, but it is only the beginning”, announced Qarri-Hoxha.

Revenues and Plans for the Future

As the campaign continues, the IPKO Foundation plans to begin training sessions in various municipalities, starting in November 2024. "There will be a call for girls, for the community as a whole. We will contact communities to nominate girls and keep our supporters informed with progress reports. The first cohort of girls will start the course soon and we will continue with other cohorts until the summer of 2025," she said.

Finally, the IPKO Foundation is committed to maintaining relationships with donors and exploring other fundraising modalities for the future. "We will continue with crowdfunding, but we are also considering different modalities", said Qarri-Hoxha, adding that maintaining transparency and informing donors is essential. According to her, every contribution, no matter how small, has a significant impact.

The "EmpowerHer!" initiative represents more than one campaign: it is a commitment to creating a long-term change in the lives of girls and women in Kosovo, as well as in society as a whole.

 

Credits for the main photo: Arbër Gjoni

This interview is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Catalyst Balkans and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

The Citizen Engagement Activity in Kosovo is a five-year initiative implemented by Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).