Ladies and gentlemen,

On many occasions I spoke about the multilingualism in my country, and the values that Swiss languages present to Switzerland’s identity.  In Kosovo, just like in Switzerland, a language is a symbol of personal and cultural identity.

However, the key question is: do we see language as a divider or do we see it as a bridge-builder? Do we want to limit our horizon and thinking to one language, or do we see languages as a door opener bringing us new opportunities?

In the past, and unfortunately still today, another language is perceived by some people as symbol of ‘the other’. The other side who was an enemy in war times and with whom memories of horrible events are connected.  Since, 20 years have passed and it might take many more years until wounds from that time are healed.

However, this will be even more difficult if we continue seeing language as a dividing factor. Therefore, it is important for people to re-discover the connecting side of languages. To see the knowledge of another language as an asset in life, opening doors to new opportunities and new perspectives for the future.

In one of the conferences organized by the Language Commissioner at the Dokufest in 2016, there was a guest speaker from the Geneva Academy, Prof. Francois Grin. He talked about a study conducted in the 90’s in Switzerland, of which two findings a noteworthy here:

1)      Switzerland would lose 10% of its GDP if they would forget the other languages overnight. And the long-term impact on the Swiss economy would be even worse.

2)     A person in Switzerland with the same education level and same years of experience would make 20% more incomes if he/she would speak another official language of Switzerland.

We all know that Kosovo is living with neighbors who speak Slavic languages. Thus, from an economic perspective but also from a social and cultural there are benefits for the Albanian youth to learn a language which they can use in the region. Similarly, for the Serb community learning Albanian would open them many doors and create opportunities in Kosovo and beyond.

After all, language means much more than economic opportunities. Knowing each other languages is the fundament of communicating together, engaging with each other and living together peacefully.

The international community’s role is to remind Kosovo and its people of these bridge-building side of languages and to support its institutions in anchoring values of multilingualism in the society.

The Office of the Language Commissioner plays the central role in promoting respect and use of many different languages, and the Embassy of Switzerland has always offered support to this office to promote the values of the multilingualism.

The task is challenging and there are still many hurdles to overcome, but the Office of the Language Commissioner despite limited number of staff can present many achievements. It can count on further international support but it is high time to also get genuine and full support from the authorities and the people of Kosovo.

Thank you for your attention.