I am Gëzim Murati (39) from the village of Trnovac in the municipality of Bujanovac. I completed elementary and high school in Bujanovac and graduated from the Faculty of Law in Prishtina. Since April 2011, I have worked in the Directorate for Road Construction in Bujanovac as a collaborator for property and legal affairs. In February 2017, I began working in the Municipal Administration of Bujanovac, providing financial support to families with children within the Department of Social Activities. In 2009, I founded a youth association The Future, where I continue to serve as the legal representative. This organization advocates for the interests of the Albanian community in Serbia, particularly the youth in Bujanovac, and is a member of the National Youth Council of Serbia. Our programs focus on educational opportunities for youth, including IT education. One of our recent achievements is the development of the Local Action Plan for Improving Social Services for 2022, adopted by the Bujanovac Municipal Assembly, which introduced an emergency hotline for victims of domestic violence. Through Heartefact’s project, I aim to address discriminatory practices against Albanians in Serbia, such as insufficient representation in state institutions, non-recognition of university degrees from Kosovo, and the prohibition of screening films in the Albanian language. Additionally, I seek to improve local services and communication between the Social Welfare Center in Bujanovac and the citizens. My community needs a campaign to raise awareness about the services provided by the Social Welfare Center and training for its employees to enable them to share information about their work more transparently.
