As in many cities around the world, World Habitat Day was also celebrated in Kosovo’s historic city of Prizren. On this occasion UN-HABITAT was joined in organizing the event by the Prizren Municipality and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The award granting ceremony took place in the Municipal Hall of Prizren Municipality.  Present to mark the day were representatives from the local authority, UN-HABITAT’s Municipal Spatial Planning Support Programme and OSCE, as well as the pupils who had taken part in the essay-writing competition, the media, and representatives of other international organizations. The event began with courtesy speeches by the organizers, who highlighted issues and problems concerning the life in urban areas in the 21^st century. The focus was also on the need to develop smarter, innovative and inclusive approaches to address challenges of urbanization. All pupils were awarded a certificate for participation in the competition and had an opportunity to read their essays to the audience gathered in the Prizren’s Town Hall. This led to an interactive debate, and pupils were able to put questions directly to municipal authorities in relation to the municipal vision concerns, plans and obstacles to local projects, and different urban issues.

The essays covered a range of global issues such as: global warming, greenhouse effect, lack of public urban transport, social housing, protection of cultural heritage, alternative energy sources, economic development and many other contemporary issues of concern worldwide.  

World Habitat Day is celebrated worldwide since 1986. It is an annual event which is held on the first Monday of October with a new leading theme launched by UN-HABITAT each year which addresses key urban challenges of the times.