Kosovo Connection

This week we welcome guests from Kosovo to Iowa to exchange ideas in agricultural education. This is a partnership created in collaboration with Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa FFA Foundation, Iowa Sister States, the Republic of Kosovo Consualte in Des Moines, and the Global Agriculture Learning Center at Hawkeye Community College. We welcome agricultural educators and high school students from Kosovo to Iowa as part of the exchange that took Iowa agricultrual educators and high school students to Kosovo last September.

The idea is to exchange ideas and best practices by each side to improve agricultural education in Kosovo and Iowa. Today was just the first day of exchanging ideas in Iowa. As we exchange ideas over the next week we challenge you to think about the value of exchanging ideas utilizing the discussion points below. Iowa FFA members watch for our Kosovo friends at State FFA Convention on Monday!

Discussion Points

• What are the benefits of exchanging ideas and practices with others?
• What challenges can arise when conducting exchanges like this one? How do we overcome these challenges?
• What is something you learned from another school, organization, or business that has helped you grow? How did you attain this knowledge? 
• How do we foster a culture of exchanging ideas to improve all involved?

Faleminderit Kosovo

Today we wrapped up a spectacular week in Kosovo! We started our Saturday with the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport. We had a great discussion regarding the history of Kosovo and current successes and challenges. After our meeting with the Deputy Minister we enjoyed conversation over a variety of our favorite coffees. Next we made our way to the National Catherdral, National Gallery, and the National Museum in Prishtina. Even though Kosovo as we know it today is a country that is just 10 years old it is very rich with history. We were able to see over 8,000 years of history and artifacts at the National Museum.

From the National Museum we traveled just outside of Prishtina to the Ulpiana Archeological site. We were able to check out roads and foundations of structures that the Romans built in the 3rd to 4th century AD. It is amazing that with all we saw they have only uncovered an estimated 2-3% of the city. Thank you to the Ministry for providing lunch after a great time together.

We took advantage of some time this afternoon to shop for souvenirs and pack. We concluded our evening the way we have much of our time in Kosovo...eating like royalty. We prep for a long day of travel tomorrow as we return to Iowa. While our time in Kosovo is coming to a close we know this partnership is just beginning. Faleminderit (Thank You) Kosovo!

Celebration Dinner Kosovo Style

It was a great Friday in Kosovo! All student/educator teams spent the morning with their host schools and host communities. This allowed some last minute time to share ideas and engage with one another. Morgan and Brad had the opportunity to present a workshop to students at the Prishtina Agriculture High School.

Following lunch student/educator teams started returning to the hotel to prepare for a celebration dinner with all involved at the Prishtina Agriculture High School. Every group had phenomenal expereinces and stated how hard it was to leave their host school and communities. This evening the entire group gathered for dinner. All involved shared thanks and reflected on the week. The students at Prishtina Agriculture High School prepared a spectacular meal in their state of the art kitchen. This also allowed great time for conversations with new and old friends.

After dinner the Kosovar students and educators invited us to the gym to play volleyball. Good times were had by all. While there was some language barriers there is no doubt that laughter is a universal language. Many stated tonight that it is hard to believe it is already Friday. Tomorrow will be our final full day in Kosovo. We will spend our Saturday with the Ministry of Culture learning more about Kosovo.

Immersed in Kosovo

Our Iowa and Kosovo students and educators are having a blast together and learning so much! The Iowa team is being immersed into the culture, education, and agriculture of this great country. Today included time in different levels of schools, visits to farms and agribusinesses, cultural excursions, coffee, and spending time with each other. Tomorrow we will all return to Prishtina to share and celebrate our time of collaboration in Kosovo. I will let the photos below tell the story of today!

Eye Opening Experiences

Today was the first full day our student/educator teams have been out with their host schools for the entire day. The comments that are being shared truly reflect great times being had by participants with lots of learning. Here are a few of the comments that were shared from today:

• “We have had a great and eye opening experience today! We may not want to leave!”
• “We have eaten at 6 restaurants and farms today and cannot eat anymore!”
• “We have visited the agriculture school, primary school, gymnasium (general school), along with a famous theater.”
• “We have visited many farms producing dairy, beef, apples, walnuts, and honey.”
• “We are enjoying coffee again!!!!!”
• “Great classroom visits today!”
• “Enjoyed a trip to a 7th century castle to learn some history as well!”

Tomorrow will be the last full day at host schools before all return to Prishtina for activities Friday. Below are a few pictures that were shared:

Venturing Out

We kicked off our day today with USAID Kosovo! Traditionally a lot of producers in Kosovo have produced corn and wheat. Unfortunately, due to small tracks of land (average farm size of 5 acres) these are not very profitable crops. We ventured out to the Kosovo countryside with USAID and Tetra Tech to learn about some projects that were helping farmers become profitable and sustainable. We first visited an apple orchard and greenhouse production facility before traveling to a greenhouse operation that is producing all types of vegetables and over one million seedlings a year to sell to other producers. It was truly remarkable to see what the farmers and producers were doing to make 20-50 times more with these production practices than traditional farmers producing the traditional corn and wheat crops.

The projects that we took a look at focused on:

• Improving agricultural production and food safety
• Developing markets
• Finding strategy partners (for sustainability)

At the conclusion of our time with USAID we returned to Prishtina for a lunch before our educator and student teams started venturing out to their partner schools and communities throughout Kosovo. This is exciting times as students and educators from Kosovo and Iowa are coming together as they learn more about agricultural education and agriculture in general from each other. Educators and students have arrived in their partner school communities and are ready for a couple full days together before all return to Prishtina for a dinner Friday night.

Kosovo and Iowa: Great Partners in Agricultural Education

Today a group of agricultural educators and agriculture high school students/FFA members take off for Kosovo to kickoff the Kosovo/Iowa Ag Ed/FFA project. This is a project that was first envisioned by at the time Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Northey (now Undersecretary at the USDA), and Minister of Agriculture for Kosovo, Memli Krasniqi (now member of Kosovo Parliament) as part of an Iowa Sister States organized experience that the Global Agriculture Learning Center (GALC) was a part of. That vision was further developed this past May when the Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa FFA Foundation, Iowa FFA Association, and GALC traveled to Kosovo with Iowa Sister States.

Today all the visions and planning become a reality! We are off to improve agricultural education in both Kosovo and Iowa through this spectacular partnership. Over the next week Iowa participants will meet with the Ministries of Agriculture and Education in Kosovo, tour agriculture businesses and producers, and spend time with their partner schools in Kosovo. After we return the partnership will continue with online interaction monthly before agricultural educators and students from Kosovo come to Iowa in April.

We look forward to an awesome experience of learning and growing together! Below are the paired Kosovo and Iowa schools.

Gjakova and Oelwien
Gjilian and Independence
Peja and Union (La Porte/Dysart)
Prishtina and Pleasantville
Vurshtrri and Waukee