The opening of the public review of the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) for the municipality of Gracanica/Graçanicë took place on the 1^st of August 2013 at Gracanica House of Culture. The ceremony started with the opening remarks by the political advisor to the Mayor of Gracanica Mr. Peric, who pointed out the hard work that has been put into finalising this plan. He expressed his gratitude to UN-Habitat's MuSPP and its staff for the commitment and professionalism shown working together with the municipal staff. UN-HABITAT's Officer in Charge, Mr. Ishaku Maitumbi, provided a brief outline of the overall planning process in Gracanica, emphasising the capacity building dimension of the process. He made reference to the good relationship built with the municipality while working together to define the sustainable spatial development priorities for the future of Gracanica. During the process, and while not always sharing the same views over the conceptual framework of the plan, a great effort has been put into raising municipal knowledge of sustainable planning practices, with meaningful results.

The director of the Spatial Planning Department within the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, Mr. Agim Radoniqi, greeted the process of drafting the MDP of Gracanica which has built the municipal capacities as well as fulfilled a legislative obligation for the municipality. The representative of the Institute of Spatial Planning, Ms. Elvida Pallaska, pointed out the good collaboration of the municipality with central level institutions and other organisations, which should serve as a role model for other municipalities in Kosovo and she also emphasized that each plan drafted for Kosovo Municipalities is a fulfilment of the Spatial Plan of Kosovo. The director of the Urbanism and Planning Department of the Municipality of Gracanica, Mrs. Nada Brkljac, gave an overview of the process of drafting the MDP, which was characterized by regular consultations with organisations from civil society, business associations and other sectors involved. She also greeted on-the-job assistance and the professional support of UN-Habitat's MuSPP given during the drafting of the plan. The draft-MDP was presented by municipal planner and project manager, Mrs. Natasa Dimitrijevic, who explained the main content of the plan, including the main aims and objectives set for addressing development challenges of Gracanica for the 15 coming years. The session concluded with the presentation of the results from the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the MDP, presented by UN-Habitat representative, Mrs. Catarina Camarinhas. The study was conducted in parallel to the MDP by an independent consultant commissioned by UN-Habitat.

The public review was announced in the municipal website and is now open for the citizens of Gracanica, central institutions, civil society, media, and all relevant stakeholders. The event was followed by a considerable number of participants from the above mentioned groups.

The municipality of Gracanica was officially established in 2009, and despite being a new municipality, the MDP was drafted in-house with the professional support of MuSPP staff through on-the-job assistance. The drafting process was also supported by MESP's Department and Institute for Spatial Planning during all phases. It has involved several public presentations and consultation with different stakeholders.

The public discussion of Gracanica MDP will be open for 60 days, and this will be a good opportunity for the citizens and all stakeholders to give comments and recommendations. After the public discussion the documents will be reviewed with the comments submitted during this period. The final documents will be submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning in order to verify its full conformity with the current Law and before approval by the Municipal Assembly.

During the public review period, the Gracanica MDP/SEA documents are available at Gracanica Municipal Building or may be downloaded for review from the municipal website.