European Young Leaders (#EYL40)

A Kosovar innovator and entrepreneur, Liza is shaping public discourse around diaspora and civic engagement. As Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, she advocates for the advancement of Kosovo’s policies, legislation and institutional approaches regarding diaspora engagement. She founded the Kosovar committee for the United World Colleges (UWC), a global movement that promotes education as a force to unite people, nationals and cultures, where she served as chairwoman for over a decade. Liza is well known as the Founder and former executive director of GERMIN, an NGO that uses technology and virtual channels to connect and engage with the diaspora community to advance the socio-economic development and democratisation of the Western Balkan region. Additionally, Liza is also the Co-Founder and former managing director of KosovoDiaspora.org, a crowdsourcing digital engagement and diplomacy platform that connects Kosovars to the world and vice versa to promote Kosovo’s statehood internationally.

Qëndron is the youngest mayor in Kosovo, having been elected to lead the town of Kamenica at only 29. He is known for his progressive approach, having a predominantly female cabinet. As mayor, he has been resolute in his mission to make his town a genuinely multi-ethnic community and to bridge existing ethnic divides. He reformed the local education system and created a joint multi-ethnic school for Albanians, Serbs and Roma children. He has also walked the talk by installing translation booths in the municipal assembly, so Serbs can participate fully in meetings.

A journalist from Kosovo, Besa Luci is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Kosovo 2.0, an independent print and multimedia magazine creating journalism that listens to people’s experiences, explains complex realities and provides context. The outlet sheds light on injustice, discrimination, human rights and current affairs in Kosovo and worldwide. Dedicated to establishing cross-cultural links, as well as explanatory, contextual and narrative journalism, K2.0 is the only medium in the country that publishes in Albanian, English and Serbian. Besa has also produced and co-written feature documentaries, including the “Drums of Resistance” and “REXHEP – What Killed the Architect”, and has worked as a researcher at the Foreign Policy Club think tank and Youth Initiative for Human Rights.

An economist known for his expertise in finance and investments, Hekuran Murati currently serves as the Minister of Finance, Labour and Transfers in Kosovo. He has notably broadened the tax base and combatted informality, resulting in a 46% increase in tax revenues. Murati advocates for the effective and efficient execution of ideas rather than drawn-out bureaucratic processes. For instance, during his first six months in office, he led the design and successful implementation of an entirely digital universal allowance scheme for all children under the age of 16. As a former member of parliament, Murati served as the chairperson of the budget and finance committee and sat on committees related to the economy, employment, trade, industry, entrepreneurship, strategic investments and investigations regarding the privatisation process. Prior to entering politics, Murati led the public debt division at the Ministry of Finance and worked at the World Bank and the Central Bank of Kosovo.

Kosovo-based Erblin Ribari is Chief Financial Officer at dua.com, an app that seeks to transform the dating industry, providing a lifestyle platform that focuses on establishing meaningful connections through shared culture and origins. Starting out as a dating app for Albanians, dua.com has gone global, with more than 5mn registered users and a market cap of over $50mn. Its ambitions go far higher: dua.com aims to cut global loneliness by half over the next 10 years. The 2008 financial crisis sparked Ribari’s commitment to making change, driving him to take leadership roles in multimillion-dollar projects across tech, finance and government furthering economic development and global connectivity.