Join us as we celebrate K2.0’s 14th birthday on Saturday, July 6! You, our readers, contributors and supporters have been with us in every step of our journey over these many years, and we want to mark the occasion with an open party in the HUB. Everyone is invited; drop by with your friends for some fun with K2.0. We’ve packed our program with events, music and fun with many of the bloggers, journalists, artists, editors, filmmakers, DJs that we have worked with over the years. Take a look at the program below and join us starting at 14:00.

Program

Music & Games
14:00 – 17:30

One of our favorite music duos, Blerta & Miranda, returns to ensure that we dance to their selection of synth pop, post-punk and new new wave. Come by as we kick off the day with food, drinks, board games and lots of fun in our garden.

K2.0 over the years
17:30 – 19:30

Each year of our existence has been a year of renewal in our content, formats and topics. We sought to stay attentive to new stories while engaging with the past and helping build a framework for the future. As we celebrate our 14th year, we ask: How did we get here?

For each year from 2010 to 2024, we have picked one piece of content to explore. With authors, collaborators, editors who have been with us since the start, we scan K2.0 throughout the years.

2010
The journey of K2.0
Besa Luci

What were K2.0’s first words? Its first steps? Its first fears, dreams and aspirations? Co-founder and editor-in-chief Besa Luci will share the story of K2.0’s inception, discussing how it started, the inspiration behind its early days and the journey that shaped K2.0 into what it is today.

2011
“Image”
Atdhe Mulla

How are we seen and by whom? How do we engage with the gaze? Why does image matter and who gets to construct it? We asked these and many more difficult questions in our very first print issue, through which we established ourselves as a magazine. How was it?

We will read aloud an open letter by K2.0’s Photography Editor, Atdhe Mulla, who will talk about the 2011 Image magazine. He will cover the magazine’s intentions, visual aspects, theme and the design decisions that shaped its creation.

2012
“Sex” 

In 2012, K2.0 published the Sex magazine issue. We wanted to initiate an open, meaningful and political discussion about one of the most taboo subjects at the time — sex. As K2.0 wanted to disrupt the silence around gender identity, satisfaction, queerness, some wanted to maintain the silence. At the magazine launch event, a crowd of men, chanting homophobic insults attacked K2.0 staff, readers, LGBTQ+ individuals and allies. K2.0 fought back by documenting, speaking up and claiming public space. Let’s make sure that we never forget.

2013
Are reclaimed public spaces under threat yet again?
Alban Muja dhe Era Qena

In the 2013 article “An artist in search of alternative spaces” from our Public Space magazine issue, journalist Firhad Mirza and artist Alban Muja explored Prishtina’s abandoned and neglected spaces and their potential. Over the past eleven years, we have seen the creation and rise of many spaces, initiatives, organizations and collectives who have reclaimed and revitalized unused or abandoned public spaces, and have turned them into hubs of community engagement, arts and culture.

What has changed since 2013? Are these spaces, which have all organized many different cultural events in Prishtina during these years, under threat again? Are they challenged by the possibility of privatization? How sustainable are they? Do they face financial obstacles? In 2024, do our institutions have a strategic approach for how to support these spaces, or are they ambivalent?

Artist Alban Muja, and Era Qena, Termokiss representative will talk about where we are now, what has changed and what has yet to be done.

2014
On the move
Hana Marku

Formerly an editor at K2.0, Hana Marku now works as an immigration and refugee lawyer in Toronto, Canada. Her article “The children from the diaspora” was featured in the Migration magazine in 2014. It speaks about the Albanian diaspora and her own experiences in navigating identity and belonging after migrating to Canada. In her talk, Marku will reflect on these experiences and how this informs her work today.

2015
“Sports” – K2.0’s coverage of Majlinda Kelmendi

In 2015, K2.0 published the Sport magazine issue featuring athlete Majlinda Kelmendi, a culmination of our years of following Kelmendi’s career, which started shortly after our founding. In 2016 Kelmendi became the first Kosovar athlete to win a medal at the Olympic Games, claiming a gold medal in Judo. Join us for a presentation based on K2.0’s coverage of Kelmendi, following the timeline of her success.

2016
Personal stories, collective memory and the 90s magazine
Jeta Rexha

In 2016, K2.0 published its 90s magazine issue, bringing back from oblivion the decade’s spirit of solidarity and resistance, its people’s struggles and activism, its music and colors and the most personal of stories. 

To look back to 2016, we have invited Jeta Rexha, director of Oral History Kosovo, who will discuss how personal narratives can inform our understanding of the past and serve to challenge pre existing narratives. Through work with oral histories and archives, Rexha will explore how the personal is inextricable from the political.

2017
#Qenjëstorie

Here’s a story, women speak back. In one of our most watched videos, #Qenjëstorie, we destabilize and question language that is embedded in patriarchy. Who do we think of when we mention the word “parent”? What messages do we convey with our language? Who do we exclude and how that reflects exclusion elsewhere, translates into it and fosters it. 

2018
Politics and the Press
Eraldin Fazliu

Former K2.0 journalist Eraldin Fazliu will talk about covering politics in Kosovo. Press freedom is essential to any well-functioning democracy. In Kosovo, free and unbiased reporting is threatened by interference from corporate and political interests. Fazliu will speak about his experience as a political journalist and how media outlets like Kosovo 2.0 navigate these issues in their coverage of the public sphere.

2019
Screening of “Have you ever asked yourself?”

Language is more than merely a coded communication tool within groups. How do words shape us? How do we shape words? Integral to culture and various art forms, language seems to pose more questions than answers. Join us for a screening of “Have you ever asked yourself?” by Qerim Ondozi, Majlinda Hoxha and Trëndelina Halili.

2020
“Hope”
Defy them

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we published our Hope magazine issue, featuring the article “Music will save us.” This piece explored Kosovo’s resurgent metal scene and included an interview with the record label Defy Them, discussing the challenges and significance of creating a space for alternative rock bands. Today, Defy Them has successfully established a physical space for alternative music. 

What are some of the challenges faced by the alternative music scene in 2024? How has it changed over the past years? How were performing artists impacted by the pandemic? Join us to hear from Defy Them as they reflect on their journey, mission and contributions to empowering a new generation of rockers.

2021
Peeling layers of history through personal memories
Lura Limani

The relationship between personal and collective memory is mediated by nostalgia, as Lura Limani demonstrated in her article “My grandmother, yugo-nostalgia and an unfinished tale.” In this article, Limani grounded her discussion in the personal history of her family. She will talk about why she decided to tell the tale this way, and what personal narrative adds to the study and preservation of history.

2022
The Alternative Balkan Postal System
Ilir Gashi

In “The Alternative Balkan Postal System,” Ilir Gashi talks about the alternative ways things are transported between borders in the Balkans. Gashi describes the homemade sarma, dolls, cigarettes, records, analogue films, house keys and all other manner of mysterious packages that ride this informal carrier network from Sarajevo to Belgrade or Prishtina. Gashi will present the article and reflect on the ways human relationships fill institutional gaps.

2023
We are in a real ghetto
Aulonë Kadriu

On April 18th, 2023 the European Parliament approved short-stay visa liberalization for Kosovo. At long last. Locked in the heart of Europe, Kosovars have waited too long to reach this point, enduring years of unfulfilled promises from the EU. 

K2.0 Senior Editor Aulonë Kadriu will discuss her investigation into the EU visa code violations and the full extent of the oppressive visa regime.

2024
Launch of our digital multimedia zine “Daring youth”

14 years ago we started as a blogging platform and today we celebrate with our bloggers. During the past two years, we have been working with tens of bloggers and activists to produce a digital and print zine, which we will proudly launch on this day. More than 20 blogs, three documentaries, videos and insights, the bloggers and K2.0 explore youth activism.

DJ + party
19:00 – 23:00

To wrap up our K2.0’s birthday celebrations, Ylli Megi will start off the night with a selection of disco, soul and funk.

Lekë Berisha will then take to the decks and play electronica, nu disco & deep house, bringing the party to a lively conclusion. Join us, dance and have some fun!