Kosovo's Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (MESP) in partnership with OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and UN-Habitat, has organised a roundtable debate on community involvement in the process of Informal Settlements (IFS) regularisation. The event, which took place in Pristina, on the 26 of November 2013, was held on the occasion of the launch of the manual on the inclusion of citizens in the process of regularisation of Informal Settlements in Kosovo. The manual was presented by MESP's Head of the Planning Division, Ms. Suzana Goranci.

Recently emerged democracies, such as the case of Kosovo, share the challenge of dealing with the legacies of past regimes, often facing periods of unclear administration composition and lack of guidelines, while at the same time witnessing major population migration, particularly to the cities. The consequences of such periods may include urban poverty, social exclusion, spatial segregation and informal solutions to housing problems. The first generation of Municipal Development Plans and housing programs in Kosovo is achieving its results in terms of building capacities and knowledge around sustainable development issues. However, Kosovo administrations still need to reinforce solutions to address growing urban sprawl and informal settlements regularisation.

The upgrading and regularisation process of Informal Settlements should have a broad support of all government spheres, political actors, and civil society groups. Backed by government support, and substantial public funding, Kosovo needs to respond to the situation of informal areas through tenure security, basic services and economic empowerment. The process represents a national effort that strives to implement upgrading and regularisation ideas in a framework of inclusion, equality, and socioeconomic development.

The event was an opportunity to share UN-Habitat's experience on setting up and shaping public participation in spatial planning in general and in informal settlements upgrading in particular.

UN-Habitat's public participation experience, particularly in upgrading program designs, main achievements and challenges, offer lessons on what worked, what did not work, and why it may be a relevant experience for the IFS regularisation process in Kosovo. International experiences as well as the Municipal Spatial Planning Support Programme (MuSPP, implemented by UN-Habitat and financed by the Swedish Development Cooperation) participatory planning approach were presented by Ms. Catarina Camarinhas and Ms. Arijete Himaduna, from UN-Habitat.

The event was honored by the presence of the Deputy-Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, Mr. Shpëtim Rudi; MESP's Director of Spatial Planning, Mr. Agim Radoniqi; as well as of the Director of OSCE's Mission's Department of Human Rights and Communities, Mr. Hjortur Sverrisson; and UN-Habitat's Chief Technical Adviser, Ms. Gwendoline Mennetrier.

Participants included representatives from Kosovo central and local level institutions. The roundtable concluded with a space for debate with participations from representatives of the municipalities of Gjakova/Ðakovica, Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, Lipjan and Prizren.