Post by Veronika Vashchenko

Enjoyed our discussion on what it takes to build and nurture Kosovo’s human capital with RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) students and my colleague Dr. Hubert Perr, Head of Cooperation at the EU office in Kosovo. Moderated by Venera Demukaj , we explored why human capital matters for the EU integration and sustainable growth, what determines whether Kosovo’s demographic profile of the youngest population in Europe is realized as a demographic dividend, and what transformational investments today will have the greatest impact on human capital outcomes in 20 years. Demographics alone do not create growth. Investments in people’s capabilities transform demographic potential into economic prosperity. For Kosovo to be competitive, children and youth should enter adulthood healthy, educated, skilled, adaptable. Advances in neuroscience convincingly demonstrate that early childhood experiences can have a profound impact on brain development and on child’s subsequent learning and health as well as their financial earnings as an adult. Each additional dollar invested in quality early childhood programs yields a return of between $6 and 17$. These years investments are smart investments to be prioritized by Kosovo. Realizing Kosovo’s human capital potential requires a broad coalition of actors - government, development partners, the private sector - and universities are strategic partners in this effort #ForEveryChild Dafina Krasniqi Teuta Halimi Kozeta Qena Imami Arjeta Gjikolli Dren Rexha