Education is one of the key words on Kosovo politician's lips, but the reality  is far from the goals of the Ministry of Education which are summarised in the catch phrase "curriculum reform". Some progress has been achieved: recently, as a consequence of a new accreditation process, all private "universities" and colleges in Kosovo had to close their doors to new students - except the American University of Kosovo which is a branch of a US university. Nevertheless, the situation remains very difficult for youth belonging to a minority group (cf. this "NODE" report on minority rights in the Balkans (pdf), p. 66ff.). (more below)

From 12 to 13 September 2008, an international conference will take place in Berlin on "The EU and the Western Balkans: The Objectives of the Slovenian EU Presidency", co-organised by the Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft and the German Foreign Office (more info below):