An initiative of Kosovo’s renowned film festival DokuFest is expected to enrich the country’s school curricula with documentary film.

The Kosovo film festival DokuFest recently held an event to publicise its “Teachers’ Digital Library” platform, which allows educators to integrate documentary film into school curricula. 

Linda Llulla-Gashi, the executive director of DokuFest, explained at the presentation of the  digital library on June 4, 2024 that the “platform contains 200 films and about 130 worksheets of didactic materials, all harmonised with the curriculum framework of the Republic of Kosovo”.

“By registering, teachers gain unlimited access to these resources which are provided free of charge,” she added, explaining that  the platform “integrates documentary films into the curriculum. Films and didactic materials help students develop knowledge, critical thinking, and the platform also offers seminars and training for teachers”.

The library has been supported by the National Endowment for Democracy, NED,  and the Swedish Embassy in Kosovo in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation and the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

Bora Shpuza, chief of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Education, praised the project, stating  “this platform will provide audio-visual tools that our teachers will use to make learning more attractive and effective for all students… This platform will continue to be enriched with content and literature, while the training of teachers continues to ensure its optimal use”. . 

“The influence of different media is a phenomenon that we must treat very carefully, especially knowing the young and impressionable age of our students. Media education is an integral part of the school curriculum, with the aim of correctly orienting children and immunising them against potential manipulations,”Shpuza added.  

Valentina Qarri, program manager for human rights, democracy, gender equality and civil society at the Embassy of Sweden in Kosovo, expressed that the platform “is a testament to the modernization of the educational process in Kosovo”. The head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, Michael Davenport, called the digital library of DokuFest  “Netflix for teachers”.

Eroll Bilibani, CEO of DokuFest’s education programme DokuLab, explained that the movies are categorised by school grades and topics.

“Our aspiration is to add 50 movies to the platform each year,” Bilibani said. 

According to Llulla-Gashi, more than 350 teachers have already registered for the digital library. 

Llua-Gashi also praised teachers’ work with DokuFest, saying “I want to express a special gratitude to all the teachers who are part of our platform and our wide network. You are the heart and soul of this initiative and without your continuous commitment and dedication this achievement would not be possible.”