The Balkan Chronicle

Time for Developing the Internet Economy: A portrait of Albania as a Technology Hub in the Region

In 2011, the users of Internet in Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro were approximately 50% of the population according to the latest data of the International Telecommunication Union (The data from the countries for 2012 show a bigger number of users; e.g., this number was 62% in Albania). From the official data, we can learn that this number of users is also valid for Kosovo. 50% seems like a good number for businesses to start developing the Internet Economy for this region. In 2016, the Internet Economy of the G20 countries, including E-commerce and advertising, is estimated to be $4.2trillion according to the Boston Consulting Group.

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Statement on International Women's Day, March 08, 2013

The realities of gender inequality and female disempowerment are recognized and acknowledged worldwide, as well as the particular challenges faced by women and girls in the developing world: primary and secondary education remains elusive, and without education, girls are more likely to remain in the poverty cycle and carry a greater workload than their male counterparts; they have less access to land, credit, and income; they are more likely to suffer legal discrimination, and uneducated girls run a higher risk of exploitation. Women's challenges directly impact children's health, nutrition, education, and overall survival and well-being.

The World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists recognizes that gender bias manifests itself in Muslim-majority countries in unique ways. Media attention often focuses on extreme examples of domestic violence, honor killings, and underage marriages. Commonly highlighted are the patriarchal traditions, extremist religious conservatism, and anti-Western political ideology, all of which are used as a tool to control basic social freedoms such as mobility, access to health services, dress, employment, and business relationships. There exist, however, more subtle and pervasive forms of gender bias in Muslim societies, such as the lack of understanding of women's basic legal and religious rights, the gaps in knowledge, and the lack of tools women need to improve their lives and empower themselves and their peers.

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New investments in shadowy Serbia: A new opportunity for Azerbaijani Oligarchs for more shadowy deals

Azerbaijan and Serbia signed a strategic partnership declaration few days ago in Baku. Despite its significance from different points of view, it did not attract much attention from international and national media. My main concern about these signed contracts is not over the mutual attempts to improve the close relationship between two countries, rather, it is over the question: Who benefits from these bilateral relationships: Serbia or Azerbaijan; ordinary citizens or elites of these countries?

Serbian president Tomislav Nikolic clearly expressed that the relationship with Azerbaijan gives "a strong impetus to intensifying the cooperation between the two countries in all the key areas."

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Public Call for Support of Bosnian Cultural Institutions: Day of Museum Solidarity – March 4

To representatives of museums and galleries worldwide:

I ask you to participate in an important international cultural awareness campaign. This campaign is a reaction to the acute crisis affecting major cultural institutions in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On October 4, 2012, after 124 years of existence, the country's National Museum (Zemaljski Muzej) closed down due to the government's failure to secure legal status and adequate funding. Your solidarity is needed!

Six other state-level institutions, including the National Art Gallery (Umjetnička Galerija BH) and the National and University Library (Nacionalna i Univerzitetska Biblioteka BH) are also about to become permanently inaccessible. The safety of precious artifacts and heritage are at stake.

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Culture Shutdown? A Plea for Museums, Galleries, and Libraries in Bosnia and Herzegovina

On a steamy July evening in 2012, I arrived at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo for an independently organized event entitled "Culture Shutdown." While this museum's name leads one to anticipate a place of grand stature to chronicle Sarajevo's and Bosnia's position in world history—from the outbreak of World War I to the city siege at the epicenter of the 1990s Bosnian war—what one finds is a crumbling façade juxtaposed next to a gleaming shopping center. The museum building itself is intentionally its own exhibit, left with its battle scars from nearly 20 years prior.

I happened on this event somewhat accidentally, while conducting research on a different subject. It was collaboratively organized by young professionals who work in the arts, including Dr. Azra Aksamija, Assistant Professor in Art, Culture and Technology at M.I.T., originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Joining her were members of the New York-based artist and on-line magazine collective, Triple Canopy, one of whom, Molly Kleiman, had lived and worked in Sarajevo.

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Children are born believers in God, academic claims

Dr Justin Barrett, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind, claims that young people have a predisposition to believe in a supreme being because they assume that everything in the world was created with a purpose.

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Battling the Balkan Birth Dearth

Thirty-two-year-old Sonja pushed a pram along the main pedestrian street in Belgrade on a brisk day in mid-December. The capital is one of the few places in Serbia with a growing population. Though that growth is mainly thanks to urbanization, Belgrade is probably also the easiest and cheapest place in the country to have a child.

Even here, however, it's tough being a parent. Sonja cited the country's steep unemployment rate – it officially reached 28 percent in December – and job discrimination against women who get pregnant or already have children.

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Unique Wedding Tradition in Ribnovo, Bulgaria

On Wednesday morning, Fatme Ulanova, a 21-year-old girl of Ribnovo, is busy making herself up to marry Djemal Sirakov.

The village of Ribnovo is located in the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria, some 190 km south of the country's capital Sofia. There live about 3,000 people, all being Bulgarian Muslims.

Mayor of the local municipality Ahmed Bashev told us that Ribnovo is famous for its unique wedding tradition, which cannot be seen elsewhere in Bulgaria.

Bashev said the wedding in Ribnovo usually lasts two days, and is held in the cold weather from November to March, because there is a lot of work for the local people during the other seasons.

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