On Friday, June 9th, KosovaLive held a panel discussion about the importance of young women’s engagement in the voting process.
Panelists were Besa Shahini, Founder and Director of Education Plenum, a think-tank focused on education research; Lisa Gashi, Director of Germin, an NGO that leverages Diaspora skills, knowledge, and networks to advance the development and diplomacy of Western Balkan countries; and Dita Dobranja, expert in international and feminist economics.
The panel was moderated by Annea Hapciu, the Director of the Kosovo bureau of Global Girl Media. Several young women from the Global Girl Media program and members from the public attended and participated in the discussion, and were encouraged to go out and vote.
The panel questions were as follows:
- Why should girls and young women participate in elections and voting?
- What kinds of problems and difficulties with young women encounter in their lives and futures if they do not engage in the election process?
- What can girls and young women do to make more informed decisions about their candidate selections?
- How can young women manage familial pressure and vote for the candidate they personally support, without feeling influenced by their family’s opinions?
- What can girls and young women do to encourage their peers in the diaspora to vote?
- How is the economy impacted if young women do not vote?
The panel opened up a dialogue about the intersection of feminism and politics, and highlighted the importance of young women’s involvement and participation in the voting process in Kosovo.
