A total of three Kosovo undergraduate, full-time, students were selected to participate in the Canada Education for Peace Initiative 2011, a study tour program in part financially supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada.

Just like CEPI 2010, this year's CEPI program enabled the selected students to spend a total of four weeks in the Halifax area, Nova Scotia, Canada. One of the key features of the program was a summer course that the students attended at Dalhousie University.  The course "Children and War" was taught by Dr. Shelly Whitman, who enjoyed the presence of the Kosovar students in her class. Dr. Whitman was pleased with their participation in class activities and their presentation of Kosovo.

Apart from attending this intensive summer course at Dalhousie University, the participants of the CEPI 2011 project that were hosted by the Albanian Canadian Society of Halifax, namely, the families of Mr. Nijazi Muji and Mr. Faton Bislimi, visited several other educational institutions in the Halifax area, such as Saint Mary's University and Mount Saint Vincent University.  They took organized trips to cultural and historic sites of Nova Scotia, including visits at museums and local and provincial institutions based in Halifax. The students also had the opportunity to observe some ESL courses at the East Coast School of Languages in Halifax, NS. 

Participants of this program were full-time students of the Victory University College in Prishtina and Gjilani College in Gjilan, Kosovo: Mr. Fatos Rexhepi (Business Economics, Victory UC), Ms Arta Ahmeti (Economics, Gjilani College), and Ms Diana Salihu (Politics, Gjilani College).

All of the student participants of CEPI 2011 were extremely thankful to their hosts, the Muji and the Bislimi families, the TBG Foundation, and DFAIT and other supporters of the project. They said that this was an enriching experience both educationally and socially for them.

Indeed, the student participants were so positively impressed with the Canadian education system and especially the universities they visited that all of them expressed their desire to be able to pursue their graduate studies in Canada one day.

"Canada seems to be a role model for democracies of today... and its education system seem attractive as much as rigorous," said Fatos Rexhepi. Diana Salihu and Arta Ahmeti both agreed that "studying in Canada would allow you to receive an education that is high in academic quality and in cultural immersion."

The implementation of CEPI 2010, apart from the grant it received from the DFAIT, was also supported by the Victory University College, Gjilani College, the Albanian Canadian Association of Halifax, the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies at Dalhousie University, and Dalhousie University.

The Bislimi Group Foundation wishes to sincerely thank the DFAIT and the rest of the supporters that helped in the implementation of this important educational project. 

 

Some Student Pictures from the CEPI 2011 Project (August 2011):

Diana and Arta enjoy a show in downtown Halifax

A student pictures a nice view of downtown Halifax from Dartmouth shores