The idea

Children need a future

The young people of Kosovo are the land's greatest hope. More than half of the population is under 25, which makes it one of the youngest populations in Europe. This new generation, on whom everything depends, needs to grow up in an atmosphere which is no longer one of separation, division and hate, without prospects. These young people require the chance of developing in a spirit of understanding, esteem and respect, and the possibility of being educated in the European sense. Girls and boys of all ethnic groups and religions should attend school together and learn to live with one another again.

Central to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 is the stipulation that all children have the right to a good primary education and an equal right to secondary education; education and learning are fundamental for development and are therefore the key to the future.

Jean Monnet (1888 - 1979), a major figure in providing the inspiration for and form to a united Europe, once said: "If I had to begin all over again to build up Europe, I would put less emphasis on the economy and more on culture and education." As a democratic European land in the Islamic world, Kosovo can expect a particular commitment from Europe.

This is undoubtedly the reason why, in autumn 2002, Kosovan parents approached a member of Renovabis, the German Catholic movement of solidarity with the peoples of eastern Europe, and requested assistance in establishing a grammar school in Kosovo.