Together for Volunteerism at the Volunteerism of the Year Conference!

On December 5, 2024, marking International Volunteer Day, the closing ceremony of the Volunteerism of the Year Awards took place, honoring 15 changemakers who have made extraordinary contributions to society.

The Volunteerism of the Year Awards is a new initiative launched and implemented by TOKA—with the support of 50 stakeholders from local and international communities—aiming to recognize, promote, and expand participation in volunteerism.

Thanks to this support, we achieved 100 nominations this year, showcasing the quiet presence of active citizenship that deserves to be highlighted.

At this year’s ceremony, 8 winners and 7 honorable mentions were awarded for their unmatched contributions in the following categories:

• The Most Courageous Volunteer of the Year – awarded to Gazmend Hasani, with Honorable Mentions for Filloreta Hoti and Vali Ibrahimi.
• The Most Creative Volunteer of the Year – awarded to Dion Istrefi, with an Honorable Mention for Kimete Arifaj.
• Volunteer of the Year – awarded to Violë Maksuti, with Honorable Mentions for Rea Gojani and Eronita Krasniqi.
• The Most Supportive Business of the Year – awarded to Kutia, with an Honorable Mention recognition for Meridian Express.
• The Most Supportive Municipality of the Year – awarded to the Municipality of Hani i Elezit.
• The Most Supportive Diaspora Ambassador of the Year – awarded to Bujar Neziri.
• The Most Supportive Public Figure of the Year – awarded to Donika Shahini-Lami, with an Honorable Mention for Pajtim Husaj.

If you’d like to learn more about our winners, click this link for additional details.

Together, in a room filled with 175 community leaders, we celebrated and acknowledged the tireless dedication and efforts of individuals committed to the improvement and development of their communities. Among them were young volunteers, representatives from international and local institutions, business owners, diaspora members, and public figures.

We firmly believe that the Volunteerism of the Year Campaign is just the beginning of a multi-year journey to recognize volunteerism in Kosova, which will continue to highlight, year after year, the relentless efforts of future changemakers.

The Volunteerism of the Year Awards are part of the environmental activities of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), through its Human Rightivism program implemented by the Community Development Fund – CDF; the European Union Office in Kosovo; “SMART Balkans” – “Civil Society for Shared Society in the Western Balkans”  implemented by Centar za promociju civilnog društva (CPCD), Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) and Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) and financially supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA) through their regional and institutional grants; and by the European Union through “Erasmus+” Program. And by “Dukagjini” Publishing House.