Other Talking Points – S2E8 – Reviewing 2023 with the K2.0 editorial desk
K2.0 podcast Other Talking Points brings you authors, scholars, artists and activists from Kosovo, the region and beyond.
In conversation with editor-in-chief Besa Luci, we explore their work, ideas and lives in order to bring you new perspectives on our world.
#EP8 - Reviewing 2023 with the K2.0 editorial desk
We are leaving behind a year full of developments in Kosovo, the region and beyond. As always, we as journalists find ourselves having to be attentive and responsible for how we talk about what’s happening around us.
As this is the last episode of this season of the Other Talking Points podcast and the last week of 2023 we take this moment to reflect on and discuss the work at our magazine. This year, our coverage has included scrutinizing the Kosovar government’s domestic performance; following recurring tensions in the north of the country and the Kosovo-Serbia EU-mediated dialogue; emphasizing human rights, with a particular focus on labor rights and gender-based violence; and discussing climate change and climate justice, to name a few.
Two K2.0 editors join the podcast to discuss our coverage of these dominant issues and what stood out in our journalism this year: Gentiana Paçarizi, K2.0’s managing editor and Aulonë Kadriu, senior editor.
This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.
#EP7 - Photography as a tool for storytelling and social engagement.
In this episode, we discuss photography’s storytelling role, capacity to distill complex human realities in a single image, ethical questions faced by photographers and the opportunities and barriers faced by young aspiring artists.
Photography is a powerful visual storytelling medium, be it in documentary form or in a more conceptual approach. Photography documents society around us, inviting and often provoking us to notice and pay attention to perspectives and experiences that otherwise may go unseen.
Storytelling through photography opens access to other forms of political and social engagement, observation and reaction. Photography-based projects often allow space and time for a different type of sensibility and exploration, whether the work is driven by an intrinsically personal enquiry and memory or the aspiration to question or understand the impact of larger societal transformations on people’s everyday surroundings.
Across the region, artistic and professional photography work is expanding and flourishing. Yet young and emerging photographers are often faced with limited educational, professional and financial opportunities.
Two guests join us to discuss the power and influence of visual storytelling, as well as the type of work driving young photographers in the region today.
Bertan Selim is founder and executive director of VID Foundation for Photography, an Amsterdam-based Foundation that supports emerging visual storytellers from the Balkans with grants and mentorships. In 2014 he helped set up the Arab Documentary Photography Programme (ADPP), a joint collaboration of the Prince Claus Fund, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture and Magnum Foundation. He regularly curates photo shows and lectures at different art academies throughout Europe.
Majlinda Hoxha is a photography editor at K2.0. Majlinda received her Masters of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Art at Auckland University, New Zealand in 2008. Her photography draws on a language of fragmentation and displacement and is sensitive to the recent political and social upheaval of Kosovo.
This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.
#EP6 - Theater in the Balkans: a stage for societal critique and historical reflection
In 2022 we published an in-depth article on the theater landscape in Kosovo. Speaking about theater professionals’ arduous working conditions, actor Adrian Morina remarked that “Theater is a mirror of all institutions.” Whether or not theater professionals are supported reveals institutions’ understanding — or lack thereof — of this art form’s significance.
Theaters have always had a dynamic relationship with power structures. Their stages have served as venues for political critique, revolt and reflection. As such, they have played pivotal roles in how our democracies are shaped, questioned or refuted. Particularly in our region, theaters have pushed societies to confront subjects that might otherwise be avoided.
We have seen plays on the wars our region has endured that have invited us to face and critically engage with the past. We have encountered plays questioning the international community’s role in our region. In a region where freedom does not extend to women, LBGTQ+ individuals and ethnic minorities, we have witnessed how theaters expose societies’ flaws. We have also viewed plays on how theaters and artists themselves should become more self-critical, more radical or more vigorous, as the Bosnian theater director Haris Pašović says in an interview published in SEEstage.
Haris is one of the guests on the podcast today. He is the director of the East West Centre Sarajevo and a professor of theater and film directing at the Performing Arts Academy in Sarajevo.
The other guest is Natasha Tripney, a writer and theater critic based in London. She is international editor at The Stage and co-founder of Exeunt [ekziwnt], a digital theater review.
This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.
#EP5 - Investigating corruption and facing the corrupt
In this episode, we talk about threats to journalism and to journalists covering topics that those in power seek to conceal.
In his recently published book, “A Death in Malta,” Paul Caruana Galizia says: “Two worlds, corruption and writing about it, collided.” This statement and the entire book refer to the work of his late mother, Daphne Caruana Galizia, the renowned Maltese journalist who was assassinated by a car bomb in 2017 in Malta.
Across the globe, many journalists face similar violent collisions of worlds, particularly when challenging or calling out abuses of power. Caruana Galizia’s book highlights how independent journalism is viewed as the problem in many countries rather than the corruption and injustice it exposes. Journalists are often left to fend for themselves with few possibilities for protection. And when they do their job in countries that are seen as rather peripheral to world politics such as Kosovo and Malta, these possibilities become all the more limited.
Caruana Galizia is joined in this episode by Kosovar journalist Jeta Xharra. They discuss how corrupt political and economic systems, when combined with lax justice systems, create an unsafe environment for journalists; how for women, gender is a crucial marker of professional experience; and share personal stories of their relationship to journalism.
Paul Caruana Galizia became a journalist after his mother was assassinated. Since then, he has won an Orwell Prize special award, a British Journalism Award and other honors for his reporting. With his brothers, he has received a Magnitsky Human Rights Award and an Anderson-Lucas-Normal Award for campaigning to achieve justice for Daphne.
Jeta Xharra is the Director of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) in Kosovo, as well as a leading anchor and editor of “Life in Kosovo”. She has written for the Economist, Sunday Telegraph and Jane’s Intelligence Review. While in the UK, she worked for the Foreign News Planning Desk at the BBC World Service, Institute for War and Peace Reporting and in 2005 she became one of the founders of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. In 2012 the South East Europe Media Organisation, SEEMO, named Jeta Xharra as winner of the 2012 Dr Erhard Busek — SEEMO Award for Better Understanding in South East Europe.
This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.
#EP4 - Sports: a unifying and divisive force
If there’s one form of entertainment that can be considered universal, it’s sports. Be it through regular state games, regional matches, or worldwide competitions — sports have long been part of everyday life across the world.
However, talking about sports transcends discussions of games, scores, favorite teams or favorite athletes. Sports have long been an intrinsic part of modern societies’ economic and political existence. In this regard, sports play a role in forging modern identities, serving as markers of national identity and expressions of national pride. Sports also serve as spaces where countries strive for international recognition, acceptance and visibility.
Sports’ political nature means that sports hold the power and potential to either unite or divide cities, societies, or countries. Pitches and sports fields often become settings for larger political disputes to manifest, either in a given society’s internal politics or between different states.
While it can be easy to emphasize sports’ divisive aspects, sports have become a force bringing together societies and countries in shared attempts to shape and promote relevant values and causes. And it is in this regard that we often hear about how sports could heal divisions in post-conflict societies and serve as an avenue for calls against racism and for equality and inclusion.
Two guests join us to discuss topics surrounding sports as a unifying and divisive force.
Loic Tregoures has authored several articles on sports and politics in Yugoslavia. He specializes in the Balkans, especially sports and has a PhD focusing specifically in football in the Yugoslav chaos.
Albert Mecini is an assistant at the Department of Sociology at the University of Prishtina and PhD candidate. His academic inquiry and research focus largely on sports and sociological theory.
This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.
#EP3 - Drag in the region, a career and a cause.
Drag is thriving in our region, both as a form of art and as a tool for radical change. The vibrant art of drag is becoming ever more present in the public sphere.
But as drag artists and performers find and claim their space in the public domain, they face constant backlash, resistance and pushbacks. Being strongly linked with celebration of queerness and the LGBTQ+ rights cause, drag artists fight difficult battles in a region that has long been unaccepting, if not outright violent, towards LGBTQ+ people and allies.
In addition to being a form of rebellion, drag is developing as an industry and a career in which performers invest a lot of energy, thought and labor. However, such labor tends to go unnoticed, and perhaps undervalued particularly when combined with an overall societal intolerance towards those who do not conform with norms or seek to shift them.
Two guests join us to discuss the dynamics of drag art in our region.
Erblin Nushi is a Kosovar filmmaker, director, producer. Nushi is also known by their drag persona Adelina Rose. They recently finished their debut feature film titled “I Love You More,” and have started their own film production company Tilia Entertainment.
Lana Vee is a Serbian drag performer from Belgrade. Lana is one of the three members of the Bad Reputation Drag Shows and was also the Queen of EuroPride in 2022.
This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.
#EP2 - Behind the lens of Balkan filmmaking today
In this episode, we will be talking about contemporary cinematography in the region.
The region has always been rich in filmmaking. Each generation of filmmakers, as well as each country, has had its own political and cultural trajectory that played a role in shaping their relationship to cinema. Yet, there are also commonalities, be it in terms of thematic approach, artistic sensibility and language, or the obstacles in production and distribution.
In regard to contemporary filmmaking, a potential common thread that emerges is the idea of chronicling the nation. The ways in which this storytelling is conducted are continually evolving – from examining narratives of war from a perspective of aftermath and trauma, investigating personal and collective archives to shed light on histories that could be forgotten, to tackling identity and gender roles through an increasingly intersectional understanding of historical experiences of oppression.
Yet, such themes and entry points into film are not exclusive to the region. These approaches are widespread and take into account the cultural and historical nuances that shape different political realities. This is just one of many reasons that film professionals from the region have critiqued the tendency to box their films into a “specific Balkan experience” — a label that not only locates the films geographically and culturally, but that also risks being internalized into the gaze applied to the telling of a story.
This is one of the issues explored in this episode. Others include; the contribution that women filmmakers have been making in expanding the historiography of film; the responsibility filmmakers carry as storytellers informing our understanding of the world; as well as the difficulties independent filmmakers face in producing and distributing their work.
Two guests join us to discuss these topics.
Kaltrina Krasniqi is an award winning Kosovo based film director and researcher working in film and digital humanities since the early 2000s. Her debut feature film “Vera Dreams of the Sea” premiered in the 78th Venice Film Festival in 2021, which was awarded the Tokyo International Film Festival Grand Prix 2021 and the Ingmar Bergman Award at Gothenburg Film Festival 2022, among other accolades.
Kumjana Novakova is a research-based filmmaker, film curator and lecturer. She is the cofounder, chief curator and director of the Pravo Ljudski Film Festival in Sarajevo. Her film “Disturbed Earth” has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards, and nominated for best feature-length documentary by the Doc Alliance.
This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.
#EP1 - Who's shaping the narratives on the Balkans?
In this first episode, we will be talking about political discourses and narratives about the region — how they’re constructed, how they relate to political reality, who gets to shape them, and finally, how these narratives end up shaping the region.
Since the end of the Yugoslav wars, the dominant frameworks applied to the region have been international development and peace and conflict studies — there’s been a focus on reconciliation, transition to democracy, and so forth. But such frameworks are being increasingly criticized, particularly as there seems to be a fundamental conflict between local agency and the international community’s efforts to control these processes.
One example of this is the EU’s political strategy toward the Western Balkans, which is often described as arbitrary or even hypocritical in nature. The question of whether Brussels is genuinely committed to the region’s EU accession is more pertinent than ever. Critics argue that the EU-accession process is now just half-hearted lip-service meant to simply contain and placate the people of the Western Balkans.
“Enlargement fatigue” is without a doubt taking place, particularly given the divided attention of EU officials, who are dealing with the rise of semi-authoritarian regimes inside the bloc, the ongoing economic and energy crises, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and now Israel’s war on Gaza.
The international media and academia also play a role in shaping how we understand and engage in such discussions. All too often, their narratives tend to disregard local experiences and local voices.
Two guests join us to discuss the interplay of political narratives and practices that take place between the international community and the region.
Aida Hozić is a scholar originally from Sarajevo who writes and teaches about international politics at the University of Florida. Her research is situated at the intersection of feminist political economy, cultural studies and international security.
This podcast is part of the Human Rightivism project, which is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina, implemented by the Community Development Fund through its Human Rightivism Program. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.
Other Talking Points is produced by Besa Luci and Aulonë Kadriu.
Music and sound mix by PUG Musik.
You can listen to Other Talking Points through our website or by subscribing to K2.0 on Spotify
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- This story was originally written in English.