This project seeks to convey the needs of community groups and render them into viable urban plans for the municipality of Prizren. Community groups within this project include women (housewives, mothers, employed women, NGOs dealing with women’s rights, single mothers, safe houses),senior citizens (pensioners, pensioners’ associations), youths (students of elementary and secondary schools, youth NGOs, students, student associations, sports associations, unemployed youth, employed youth,parents, school staff), persons with special needs (persons with special needs [children, youth, senior citizens], family members, NGOs working with people with special needs, medical professionals, special schools), residents of run-down quarters (local municipal offices, humanitarian NGOs, Centre for Social Welfare, Employment Center, homeless), culture and cultural heritage (artists, activists of cultural NGOs, culture,artisans and cultural heritage experts, urban planners, architects,public cultural institutions, researchers, colonists of Historic Centre) and the environment (environmentalists, environmental NGOs, public environmental institutions, urban planners, architects, researchers,community).

Main activities

• Public information
• Focus Groups (identification of needs)
• Debates
• Research reports
• Research on the existing urban situation in Prizren as well as identifying the needs of citizen
• Advocacy
• Institutionalization of the participation methodology
• Documenting
• Annual Conference

Achievements

All of the activities planned for the first year of this project were successfully completed. During 2013, 28 focus groups were conducted with 7 community groups, 7 debates arranged with community groups, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the local government(Department of Urban and Spatial Planning), two researches surveys with500 respondents, as well as respective studies on participatory urban planning. Along with these activities, EC Ma Ndryshe has advocated for the needs of various community groups and, as a result, several access ramps were constructed for persons in wheelchairs, the correction and replacement of some utility poles by KEDS were done in the Arbana neighbourhood of Prizren, and garbage bins placed en route to the city’s fortress. This project is supported by SIDA and the Olof Palme International Center and sponsored by the Swedish Government.