Resources, City Spotlights Prizren

City Spotlight: Prizren, Kosovo

Prizren is Kosovo’s second most populous municipality and is constitutionally recognised as its historical capital. The city is renowned for its cultural and religious diversity, with a mix of ethnic communities, including Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks and Romani, alongside the majority Kosovo Albanian population

Prizren has been a Strong Cities member since 2022. It has actively participated in events led by the Network’s Western Balkans Regional Hub, including a Kosovo City Roundtable in Prishtina in March 2023, an exchange on city-led approaches to empower youth to address hate, violent extremism and polarisation in Elbasan in June 2023, and a September 2023 Regional Workshop on strengthening national-local cooperation to address violent extremism and polarisation.

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What is the local government concerned about?

Despite its rich heritage, Prizren faces significant challenges stemming from political, interfaith and intercommunal tensions exacerbated by historical grievances and revisionist narratives.

Recent controversies have underscored these challenges. A small group of conservative Muslims organised protests in the city following a performance by Canadian musician Peaches – an artist with a large LGBTQI+ following – at the Dokufest film festival. Protestors claimed that the event promoted cultural insensitivity and posed a threat to traditional values and the well-being of children. During coverage of the protest, a journalist was attacked and calls emerged to boycott the media outlet. Such attacks on journalists reporting on polarising topics are not uncommon, raising concerns about press freedom and censorship.

Prizren has also seen troubling incidents targeting the Serbian Orthodox Church, including assaults on clergy and intimidation of Serbian pilgrims. Acts of inter-ethnic intolerance and provocation appear to be increasing, with local authorities particularly concerned about rising hate and tensions among youth from different ethnic communities. These developments underscore the ongoing complexities within Prizren’s social and political fabric. Another concern over the past decade has been the large number of foreign fighters who left Kosovo starting in 2013. Per capita, Kosovo recorded the highest number of individuals in Europe who travelled to join the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Estimates indicate that over 400 individuals left to join extremist groups, many of whom have since returned.

How is the local government responding?

Municipal Community Safety Council

Prizren maintains an active Municipal Community Safety Council (MCSC), aligned with the Ministry of Internal Affairs guidelines. Chaired by the Mayor, the Council operates as a key local security coordination body and meets monthly with key stakeholders, including the Police Station Commander, to coordinate local security efforts and review issues raised at the municipal level. Activities follow an annual action plan, ensuring a collaborative institutional response to emerging security concerns.

Community Engagement

Prizren has adopted an inclusive and strategic approach to community engagement, focusing on youth and women as agents of positive change. In close partnership with civil society, it has launched a series of educational initiatives and targeted workshops addressing the risks posed by extremism and radicalisation and designed to promote critical thinking, social inclusion and resilience to extremist narratives.

Leadership and communication training, along with the establishment of Youth Centres, fosters civic engagement, confidence and digital skills, with the aim of reducing vulnerability to on/offline radicalisation. The municipality also supports youth start-ups and entrepreneurship, especially among returnees and marginalised groups, to promote reintegration through employment and self-sufficiency.

Social Cohesion

To safeguard social cohesion and counter political and ethnic polarisation, Prizren promotes inclusive dialogue through regular interfaith roundtables with representatives of local authorities and diverse religious communities, such as the Islamic Community, Serbian Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, Protestant Evangelical Church, Union of Tarikats and the Jewish community.

Prizren has also taken meaningful steps to promote the inclusion of minority communities, notably the Roma community, signing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with international partners to support the Roma community, including through the provision of municipal services in the Roma language and formal recognition of Romani as an official language—enhancing civic participation and access to public services.

These actions reflect Prizren’s broader commitment to strengthening integration and equal access to opportunities for all residents, regardless of background or ethnicity.

Rehabilitation & Reintegration

While national reintegration efforts are led by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Prizren has taken an active role in supporting vulnerable youth, particularly those returning from conflict zones. Since 2019, the municipality has partnered with the Kosovar Center for Security Studies (KCSS) on Youth for Youth – Increasing Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth in Kosovo, offering weekend camps and life skills programmes for returnee children. KCSS reports that the majority of children and families returning from Syria and Iraq have successfully reintegrated into Kosovar society, largely due to the strength of community and family ties. This success story underlines the importance of local ownership, coordinated reintegration strategies and the enduring role of social cohesion in long-term recovery. These local-level efforts are aligned with Kosovo’s National Strategy for the Prevention of Violent Extremism and Radicalisation Leading to Terrorism (2023–2027), which emphasises local ownership and multi-stakeholder cooperation, reintegration of returnees and strengthening community resilience as key pillars.

What’s next?

Despite ongoing financial and staffing constraints, the Municipality of Prizren continues to prioritise strong community engagement, particularly through regular dialogue with neighbourhood and village councils. This participatory approach ensures that residents’ voices remain central to local planning and decision-making.

Looking ahead, the municipality has identified several priority areas:

Regular Dialogue: Maintaining periodic meetings with representatives from neighbourhoods and villages to discuss local issues, gather feedback and collaboratively develop solutions.
Inclusive Participation: Encouraging active engagement from all community members, including marginalised and underrepresented groups, to ensure that diverse perspectives shape municipal initiatives.
Community-Driven Solutions: Implementing targeted projects informed by the insights and suggestions received during these discussions, with the goal of improving quality of life across the municipality.

In parallel, Prizren is strengthening coordination with central institutions and security agencies to enhance public safety and well-being. Through joint planning and resource-sharing, these efforts aim to deliver a more cohesive and effective response to both current and future challenges.

As part of this broader strategy, the municipality is also drafting a comprehensive local crisis response plan, designed to guide municipal action during emergencies, reinforce resilience and preparedness across Prizren.

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City Spotlight: Prizren, Kosovo

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