TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Kristina Zimaj
The Academy of Language and Culture (AoLC), organized by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and the OSCE Mission to Serbia, and implemented by alumnae of the Dialogue Academy for Young Women, aims to foster mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue between young people from Prishtinë/Priština and Belgrade.
The Dialogue Academy is a long-standing OSCE initiative that brings together young women from both communities to build leadership skills, promote dialogue, and encourage civic engagement through joint activities. Alumnae of this programme take on active roles in implementing follow-up initiatives like the AoLC, applying their training in facilitation, conflict resolution, and intercultural communication.
The key objectives of the AoLC are to:
Promote inter-community dialogue and understanding through shared language and cultural learning.
Provide basic language instruction in Albanian or Serbian as a tool for bridging communication gaps.
Encourage empathy and reflection by exploring shared challenges, values, and everyday experiences.
Foster youth-led collaboration, inclusion, and equal participation across ethnic and gender lines.
Strengthen informal networks and relationships that support peaceful cooperation and dialogue.
The organizing team was composed of OSCE staff member and DANA alumas, all coming from different Western Balkan countries.
The group of participants was composed of young people aged 18-25 coming from Kosovo and Serbia, most of them being high school graduates, university students or young professionals.
The training employed non formal education methodologies including team building activities, simulation, group discussions, games and artistic means for education.
The five-day programme achieved several important outcomes:
Participants gained foundational language skills in either Albanian or Serbian, enabling more effective and empathetic communication.
Through workshops and interactive exercises, young people engaged in meaningful intercultural exchanges that challenged stereotypes and built mutual respect.
Participants developed a deeper understanding of each other’s cultures and found common ground in their personal and professional aspirations.
The Academy facilitated the creation of new friendships and peer networks across community lines, laying the groundwork for ongoing dialogue and cooperation.
With the involvement of Dialogue Academy alumnae as facilitators, participants benefited from youth-led, contextually relevant approaches to inclusion.
1. To design and manage the open call for applications.
2. To design agenda and learning material for four different workshops, comprising of interactive discussions, practical examples and exercises, team-building activities, case studies, and role-play on topics covered by the programme (such as inter-community dialogue, intercultural understanding, gender equality, etc.), in close collaboration with other consultants.
3. To deliver the training module comprising of practical examples and exercises, team-building activities, case studies and role-play.
4. Draft the Final Evaluation Report for the training sessions.
Kristina was a key trainer in the Academy of Language and Culture and played an essential role in both the preparation and delivery of the programme. She brought a thoughtful, empathetic, and structured approach to facilitation, and her ability to connect with participants from diverse backgrounds truly stood out. Her sessions were engaging, well-prepared, and contributed meaningfully to the overall success of the training. It was a pleasure collaborating with her.