Press Release

Restore our Earth, a Wake-Up Call to Save the Planet

19 April 2021

Every year, on 22 April, we celebrate the Earth Day to raise awareness on the importance of the collective responsibility to protect the environment for future.

During the Kosovo Earth Days, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo, together with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and other United Nations Kosovo Team agencies will organize activities from 19 to 23 April, to raise awareness among the general public on the importance of promoting green economy, sustainable urban development, and environmental sustainability.

Maria Suokko, Resident Representative of UNDP in Kosovo said that the idea of organizing the Kosovo Earth Day grew from the idea of wanting to celebrate the Earth Day and extend the celebration beyond one day – to use this opportunity to highlight the importance of public action in protecting the environment and in choosing a more sustainable development path as we recover from the COVID-19 crisis.  “Everyone has a role to play. People need to be inspired to play it and given the opportunities to act. We want to offer experiences and ideas on how we can all contribute to advancing environmental sustainability in Kosovo.”

Omar Siddique, Head of Office of UN-Habitat Kosovo, emphasized: “We hope Earth Day celebrations will galvanize new alliances and renewed solidarity to build back greener and for carbon neutrality to become a whole-of-society effort. This requires leadership from central authorities but can only be realized if municipalities act, the private sector is engaged, and civil society and individuals all become partners. I am convinced that the twin crises of COVID-19 and the changing climate is a great moment of awakening for Kosovo.”

This year’s theme is Restore Our Earth. Around the globe, people will join activities to clean up litter, plant trees, or simply reflect on the beauty of nature. Together we can make each day Earth Day.

Below is the calendar of events in three languages. (English, Albanian, Serbian)

Burbuqe Dobranja

Burbuqe Dobranja

UNDP
Communications Associate
Danijela Mitić

Danijela Mitić

UNDP
Communications Associate
Shpend Qamili

Shpend Qamili

DCO
Associate Development Coordination Officer, Programme Communications, Advocacy and Outreach
Shpend contributes to strategic advocacy, programme communication and outreach in support of the UNSDCF and local promotion of United Nations global communications and advocacy priorities on the work of the United Nations in other key thematic areas such as SDGs and UN Values. He provides substantive support to the DC and UNKT on strategic advocacy, programme communications, media relations, outreach, as well as social media and online communications. Shpend supports the development of publications and media products and manages the branding for. He also coordinates the work of the UNKT Communication Group.

UN entities involved in this initiative

RCO
United Nations Resident Coordinator Office
UN-Habitat
United Nations Human Settlements Programme
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme

Goals we are supporting through this initiative