“Envisioning as a Participatory Planning Tool” was the lead topic of the conference organized by UN-HABITAT’s Municipal Spatial Planning Support Programme (MuSPP) and Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (MESP), and supported by other partners involved in envisioning processes in MuSPP Municipalities: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB). Over the last four years, envisioning workshops organized as inclusive planning activities with active participation of local government officials and civil society organizations took place in nine municipalities. This conference brought together 150 planning professionals from all over Kosovo to discuss and share their experiences on participatory and strategic planning in Kosovo and abroad. The participants had the opportunity to benefit from presentations of three planning experts from Sweden, Turkey and Albania. Comprised of four sessions, the conference offered a very good opportunity for experience sharing amongst planning professionals in Kosovo. The conference started with the opening remarks of the Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning in which he pointed out that “now the results of the capacities built in the local and central level with the support and expertise of UN-HABITAT have started to be visible, where we have the Junik MDP drafted with internal municipal capacities and Hani i Elezit/General Jankovic and Mamusha are following the same method”. In her opening remarks, the Head of UN-HABITAT Kosovo office, Mrs. Krystyna Galezia, stressed the role of UN-HABITAT and its cooperation with municipalities for promotion of the participatory planning approach and strategic planning methods.

The first presentation of the conference was made by the MuSPP officials respectively Ms.Arijeta Himaduna and Mr Ishaku Maitumbi who described the whole process of the envisioning as well as the background of the project which led to the organising the conference.

The conference was highlighted by the presence of: Mr. Steve Johnson, Head of the Department for Sustainable Community Planning and Development in the Municipality of Borlange in Sweden; Mr. Flamur Kuçi, advisor to the Prime-Minister of Albania who brought the experience from Albania; Mrs. Nuran Zelen Gulersoy, lecturer in Istanbul Technical University who brought the Turkish experience on participatory planning by giving concrete examples from three towns in Turkey. Successful experiences from MuSPP municipalities of Junik, Hani i Elezit and Mitrovica were presented by municipal officers, Ms. FerdoneTofaj, Mr. Durim Dernjani and Ms. Shyhrete Peci, respectively.

Presentations were also made by Ms. Suzana Goranci, Head of the Municipal Planning Section in the Department of Spatial Planning of the MESP, Mr. Ilir Gjinolli, professor at the Dept. of Architecture of Prishtina University and Mr. Luan Shllaku, Director of KFOS, and Ms. Elvida Pallaska of the Institute of Spatial Planning.

The participants of the conference contributed raising numerous valuable questions, issues and debate through experience sharing and professional reflections. Planners cited that the participation of the decision makers in the planning process was emphasized as a very important issue, because in many cases the decisions taken from the politicians do not comply with the visions of the citizens, civil society and other stakeholders. It was evident through this generated dialogue that in Kosovo understanding of, and participation in the planning process is still relatively weak, but that this is expected considering the transitional period Kosovo is going through. On a positive note the success within Kosovo municipalities that has been seen so far through the participatory approach suggests improvement will continue and the added value this approach affords will increase even further in the future. Prior to the conference, on the night of 8^th of November, MuSPP and other partners organized a public lecture “Sustainable Urban and Rural Development” in the National Library of Kosovo. The lecture was opened by the Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning and the Minister on Agriculture and Rural Development. The seats of the amphitheater on the library were filled with students and planners as well as other representatives of the Kosovo municipalities working on planning issues. The lecture was conferred by international planning experts, and was followed with active discussion by the participants and questions to lecturers who presented sustainability from three different angles and experiences based on their expertise and working origin.