President Osmani is bestowed the Bonifacio VIII Prize in Anagni
The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, was bestowed the Bonifacio VIII Prize last night in Anagni, the city of the Popes, by the Bonifacio Academy, in recognition of her institutional commitment to peace, as well as her continuous contribution to strengthening intercultural and interreligious cooperation. This esteemed recognition reflects the spirit and mission of the Bonifacio Academy, a prestigious institution that bases its activities on justice, human dignity and peace. The Bonifacio VIII Prize has previously been awarded to prominent world personalities, including His Holiness Pope John Paul II. On this occasion, President Osmani emphasized that this prize further reinforces her commitment to these universal and eternal values, which guide the vision and institutional action of the Republic of Kosovo in building peace, dialogue and understanding between nations.
President Osmani: Mujë Krasniqi and his comrades chose honor over fear, homeland over life
On the 27th anniversary of the heroic fall of Mujë Krasniqi – Kapuçi, and his 41 fellow fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army, we bow with the highest respect to the sacrifice that became the foundation of our freedom. They fell to rise in eternity, becoming the symbol of liberation. Mujë Krasniqi and his comrades chose honor over fear, homeland over life. We and the flag of the Republic of Kosovo, which today waves free, are indebted to tehri blood. Eternal glory to Mujë Krasniqi and the 41 martyrs of the KLA!
President Osmani: From St. Peter’s Square, following the private audience with His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, at the Holy See
Statement by President Vjosa Osmani and the First Gentleman, Prindon Sadriu, formally announcing Kosovo’s decision to join First Lady Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future Together global coalition
The Republic of Kosovo proudly shares President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s commitment to protecting and empowering children and youth. We are honored to formally announce Kosovo’s decision to join First Lady Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future Together global coalition. Through an official letter to the White House, Kosovo has confirmed its participation and its readiness to contribute meaningfully to this important international effort. In joining Fostering the Future Together, Kosovo brings both lived experience and forward-looking innovation. Our fast-growing private-sector technology companies, ICT sector, and leading think tanks stand ready to contribute to solutions that enhance digital safety, expand STEM and AI education, and reinforce strong families and communities in the digital era. As part of this commitment, the Republic of Kosovo announces its intention to establish the “Fostering the Future Together: The Melania Trump Center of Excellence” in Kosovo. The Center is envisioned as a global hub for shaping forward-looking policies, forging strong partnerships, and advancing practical solutions that strengthen child protection, digital safety, education, and family well-being. Its mission is not merely to promote ideas, but to help translate them into actionable programs, responsible technology use, and measurable, long-term impact for children. As a country that rose from the ashes of war and advanced toward freedom, peace, and democracy with the immense support and leadership of the United States, Kosovo understands the importance of protecting children and creating an environment where they can grow up and thrive in peace. Therefore, this initiative resonates deeply, reflecting a profound moral connection to First Lady Melania Trump’s efforts to protect children, uphold their dignity, invest in their education, and build a future grounded in safety, opportunity, and strong family values. Kosovo’s experience underscores our firm belief that investing in children and strong families is the most powerful investment in peace, security, and the future. With the youngest population in Europe and a dynamic technology sector, Kosovo stands ready to contribute expertise, innovation, and unwavering partnership to this global cause. The Republic of Kosovo is proud to stand with President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and all nations committed to ensuring that every child grows up safe, empowered, and free — because the future we build for our children is the future that will define us all.
President Osmani departed on an official visit to the Holy See, will be received in audience by Pope Leo XIV
The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, has departed on an official visit to the Holy See, where she will be holding a series of meetings. President Osmani, together with the First Gentleman, Mr. Prindon Sadriu, will be received in audience by Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace. Madam President will also hold a meeting with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. During her visit to the Vatican, President Osmani will also visit St. Peter’s Basilica. At the Special Mission of the Republic of Kosovo to the Holy See, President Osmani will host an end-of-year reception with representatives of the Holy See, diplomatic representatives and other guests. During this visit, she will also carry out a number of activities aimed at expanding the relations between the Republic of Kosovo and the Holy See.
President Vjosa Osmani’s address at the opening of the exhibition “Truth, Memory, Justice” organized by the Presidency of the Republic through the Regional Center of Excellence for Women, Peace and Security, and in cooperation with the Kosovo War Crimes Institute (IKKL)
Speaker of the Assembly, Prime Minister, Representatives of institutions, Ambassadors of amicable countries, We are here today together at the Exhibition “Truth, Memory, Justice”, not only as institutions but also together with many human rights activists, with many representatives of organizations, families who went through the darkest times of our history, together with many strong mothers who have become iconic symbols of our unceasing fight for justice, and together with the allies who stood by us in the most difficult days for our people. We are here to mark International Human Rights Day, a date that symbolizes universal dignity, freedom and equality. Because, when in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on December 10th and gave legal and moral form to the principle that every human life has value and deserves protection, at that time, the slogan “Never again” was also heard every day. Unfortunately, it remained just a slogan, because the suffering that humanity saw during the Second World War was unfortunately repeated to some extent in our region in the 1990s. Even today, after 75 years, the world is still faced with injustice, violence, and violations of fundamental rights. And as always, as in any war, those who are most vulnerable are most affected: innocent civilians, women, the elderly and especially children. The people of Kosovo know very well what this means. The war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the Milosevic regime caused pain that will never be extinguished: thousands of people killed, including many children, thousands of women and men raped, thousands of people forcibly disappeared, who are still missing from their families and are missing from all of Kosovo. Their pain knows no time. It is an open wound, a living wound, a wound that drains every day and which still demands justice. Let us pause for a moment at the stories that tell the indescribable pain and courage of our mothers. Among us is mother Ferdonije and many mothers from Gjakova, who always carried within their souls the pain of losing their children, their spouses, the loved ones of their families. Mother Ferdonije lost her sons and husband, then preserving their empty room, the table, but also the clothes left there as a memory of the lives that never returned. Their stories are not just stories of pain; they are evidence of the resilience, the unbreakable and endless love of mothers and the memory that never fades. Let us also dwell on the history of the women of Krusha. In Krusha e Vogël, mother Hyrisha Shehu still remembers the day her life was turned upside down. Amid the smoke, noise and explosions that engulfed the village, she had her youngest son, only 13 years old, on her lap, hugging him as if protecting him with all her heart. He had clung to her neck, whispering: “Mother, don’t let me go…” — words that still echo in the mother’s mind today. When Serbian forces surrounded the entire village population in a courtyard, she tried to cover the little boy with her body, but the harsh hands tore him from her lap, leaving him collapsed in the mud, with his arms extended towards him. That day took her two sons and her husband, leaving mother Hyrisha with a heart wounded forever, but with a strength that was never broken. Today, her story is not only about pain. The story of mothers, fathers, children, and all citizens of Kosovo is also resilience, it is memory, and it is a voice that reminds the whole world that the crimes of that time will never be forgotten, and it also reminds us of the undying love of an Albanian mother. As we know in many other places in Kosovo, the loved ones of about 1,600 forcibly disappeared are still waiting. Through memory, truth, and justice, crimes must not only be punished, not only must we honor those we have lost and the pain of their families every day, but above all, the future itself must be built on respect for them. 26 years after the war, justice is still missing. The perpetrators have not been brought to justice, and the families of the victims still wait. The families of the missing live every day with uncertainty and the pain and anxiety of waiting. Some of the surviving witnesses are dying, taking with them important parts of the truth. Therefore, our institutional obligation is greater than ever: documentation, preserving memory, and the continued search for justice are a national urgency. The work of the Kosovo war Crimes Institute is vital. Every document, every testimony, every photograph, every story is part of the mosaic of truth. Without truth there can be no justice, and without justice there can never be lasting peace for future generations. Today’s exhibition “Truth, Memory, Justice” is not simply a photo exhibition. These are just a few of the thousands and thousands of photographs that the Institute for War Crimes has collected. These photographs, therefore, are beyond appearance, they are a powerful statement that: we will not allow the truth to be distorted, that we will not allow memory to fade. Here we commemorate the children killed, the mothers and fathers who never returned, the families who lost everything, those who disappeared by force. For each of them, for the women who experienced the horror of wartime rape and every victim of war, each without distinction, for each of them we demand justice. The survivors who live today with physical wounds, but above all spiritual wounds, are the personification of resistance and human dignity, they are the voice of truth that can never be silenced. Kosovo will not give up. We will not allow the crimes to be forgotten. We will not allow the genocide to be denied. For every missing person, for every murdered child, for every victim of sexual violence — we will speak out loud here and in every country in the world. Justice will be sought without
First Gentleman Prindon Sadriu invited to the White House at the Summit hosted by First Lady Melania Trump
The First Gentleman of the Republic of Kosovo, Mr. Prindon Sadriu, has received an official invitation from the First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Melania Trump, to participate at the international summit to be held at the White House in March. The summit will be dedicated to First Lady Melania Trump’s initiative “Fostering the Future Together,” which Kosovo joined in September of 2025. This global White House initiative will make advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, available to support children, parents, and educators, while ensuring the protection of young people from online threats. The world’s largest technology companies have pledged to provide these tools at no cost or at very low cost to Kosovo and other participating countries. First Lady Trump’s initiative also ties in with President Osmani’s priorities to protect children’s rights from digital threats and to develop the information technology sector in line with the interests of children. The Presidency of Kosovo will contribute with concrete commitment to supporting this initiative, through plans that have already been presented to President Trump’s Administration. Kosovo’s participation at this summit underscores our commitment to strengthening the alliance with the United States of America, to advance the well-being and development of the new generation, and to further strengthen the strategic partnership with the United States of America.
President Vjosa Osmani’s address on the 50th anniversary of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts
Thank you very much! Honorable President Begaj Honorable Prime Minister Kurti, Honorable President Sejdiu, Honorable President of the Academy, Mr. Kraja Honorable President of the Academy of Sciences of Albania, Mr. Gjinushi, Esteemed academicians, Representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo as well as representatives from academies of countries in the region and all of Europe, Honorable participants, The Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts is the center where our political thought was shaped and the institution where the ideas that gave direction, meaning and foundation to our state were born. For five decades, Kosovo academics have worked in extremely difficult circumstances from time to time, but the goal was to protect the language, protect the culture and above all to protect the national interest. They have contributed to political, educational and cultural formation and have connected our country with world centers of knowledge, they have articulated ideas that have given meaning to our path to a society of values and a modern state integrated into Euro-Atlantic institutions. At every stage of our history, the Academy has been one of the institutions that has not given up. Studies, archives, publications, literary and artistic creativity have also kept our dream of freedom and state alive. Therefore, on this jubilee anniversary, we remember with gratitude all those who gave their toil and sweat, and many of them even their lives, so that we can move forward as a free state. We remember with gratitude the first president of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo, Esad Mekuli, a personality who left an indelible mark. With his creative vision and civic courage, Esad Mekuli established the Academy as an institution where free speech and thought became the foundation of our cultural identity. In our national history, the word “academy” carries a special, but also ancient, weight. This longstanding institution is a symbol of our centuries-old effort for knowledge and culture, to raise free thought and to preserve it in even the most difficult times. In line with these efforts is the work of academician Gazmend Zajmi, who, beyond his commitment as president and vice president of the Academy, made an irreplaceable contribution to establishing the legal foundations of our state. As the drafter of the Constitution of Kaçanik, but also of the Constitutional Declaration of July 2, 1990, academician Zajmi built the legal foundations of our state together with many, many other contributors. His figure is the direct link between academic thought and the project of the state of Kosovo. With such profiles, our Academy served as the place where our future as a people was projected, strongly mobilized in the cause of rights, in the cause of dignity, in our fight for freedom, independence and statehood. It is no coincidence that the historic President, Dr. Ibrahim Rugova, elected a corresponding member in 1996, was also part of this Academy. The work in this Academy constituted one of the strongest foundations of his political and national commitment as the Founding Father of our Republic. President Rugova gave our politics the depth of cultivated thought as well as a clear vision. He turned intellectual thought into a democratic tool, a state-building and peace-building tool. Therefore, names like these and many others prove that the Academy has always been the place where the intellectual elite has given meaning to our centuries-old aspirations for freedom and independence. This rich heritage guides us even today, because our Academy integrates tradition into the global academic space. Fifty years of the Academy’s existence are proof of the power of knowledge. Because when we talk about knowledge, we talk about the state. There can never be a strong state without strong science, just as there can be no modern society without academics who lead free, critical and far-sighted thought. The Academy is among the institutions that give the state its very substance. On this anniversary, we honor each academic who has contributed to this institution. We thank entire generations who made the survival of knowledge possible in the most difficult conditions. We support those who today bear the burden of scientific and cultural development, orienting the country towards the highest academic standards. Today, when our society moves at a fast pace and the challenges are increasingly complex, the role of the Academy of Sciences becomes even more vital. Academics are the critical conscience of our state, our most valuable advisors and guides of contemporary thought. The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo and the Academy of Sciences of Albania are sisters in this common mission and for this reason cooperation should be intensified every day, strengthening the national and regional role of knowledge and science. Both Academies have historically had a role that goes beyond institutional boundaries. They have been and remain bridges that connect our cultural, linguistic and scientific space, preservers of our national memory and bearers of our vision for the future. In this mission, inter-academic cooperation is essential, when joint projects enrich both sides of the border and when our academies speak with a common voice about the challenges that our nation faces today. The impact of knowledge is indispensable for the orientation of our societies, so the intensification of cooperation between the Academy of Kosovo and that of Albania remains one of the most strategic investments that we can make as an Albanian nation. Dear academicians, The role of the Academy today has acquired an extraordinary complexity. Historians, linguists and researchers are guardians of accuracy in an era where information is endlessly distributed, but the truth often remains rare. Academics are the interpreters, but also the defenders of this truth. And, as defenders of a future in a time when technology moves faster than imagination, they bear the burden of responsibility to orient knowledge towards the values and ethics that make for a stable and free society. In this context, the Academy has an irreplaceable mission in preserving collective memory and in protecting the historical truth about the crimes committed by
President Osmani received the President of Albania Bajram Begaj
The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, received today the President of Albania, Bajram Begaj. President Osmani wrote: In a warm end-of-year meeting, today I had the pleasure of receiving the President of Albania, Bajram Begaj, with whom we discussed our incessant cooperation and the need for Kosovo and Albania to always be close to each other. On the eve of the end-of-year holidays, I conveyed my most heartfelt congratulations, with the hope that the coming year will bring even more closeness, more cooperation and successful steps towards the European Union for both our countries.
President Vjosa Osmani’s address at the “Youth Draw the Line” exhibition, organized by UNDP
