Valdete Idrizi

Valdete Idrizi is an ethnic Albanian internally displaced person (IDP) who lost her home in Serb-controlled north Mitrovica in 1999. She crosses frequently into Serb-controlled territory over the ridge that she has been warned is too dangerous to cross, in order to run women’s and youth projects in the Serb north. She also counsels Serb widows and other IDPs who have suffered as she has. Ms. Idrizi risks beatings, kidnapping and death, and has had to move from house to house to ensure her safety. She runs a local NGO that sponsors more than 200 multi-ethnic and grassroots level projects in the immediate region of Mitrovica dedicated to the needs of: youth, women, minorities, IDPs, culture and media. In the last six years, her NGO has been the only organization in Mitrovica to encourage reconciliation and rebuilding of relationships between both ethnic Albanians and Serbs. Ms. Idrizi’s NGO has become the “go to” group for healing, and is respected by all sides in conflict-torn Kosovo.