Kosovo, Pristina: A huge four meters tall Lego monument in Mother Teresa Boulevard in Prishtina (capital city of Kosovo) is called Let Go EU (original: LEtGO EU) and the explanation sign attached to the monument says "Europe is built on common values of nations and states. Kosovo cannot be the missing piece in this entirety".
Why Let Go EU was created? Because geographically Kosovo is in Europe but isolated from the continent. More than 1.8 million Kosovars are not allowed to travel to EU countries without a Visa.
Still, Kosovo is the sole Balkan country in the "black-list" of Schengen Zone". 500+ million Europeans travel Visa-free in EU states since the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, while Kosovars are detained from the movement, despite Kosovo being the largest EU-funded state so far.
Isolation has attracted illegal migration in EU. In 2014, more than 100 thousand Kosovars emigrated EU countries for a better life. Kosovo is the poorest country in Europe (CIA Factbook says Kosovo has an annual PPP of USD 8,000, unemployment rate at 31%, average age: 26 years old, youth unemployment at 60%).
The European Commission on May 4 proposed that Kosovo citizens be allowed to travel to the EU's passport-free Schengen zone without a visa, a day after the Balkan nation became a UEFA member.
Creators of Let Go EU monument include Etrit Zeneli, Arbana Xharra, Alban Kastrati and Urban Plus Studio (urban planning architects). The project was fully funded by KFOS (Kosovo Foundation for Open Society).
Etrit Zeneli is the creative ideator of Let Go EU monument. He was also a team member of Newborn monument that won Gold Cannes Lion - Silver Clio - Silver Eurobest - Grand Prix Golden Drum- One Show Merit- Bronze David Award- Finalist at LIA
Arbana Xharra is an investigative journalist from Kosovo. She has written about a wide range of issues including, corruption and organized crime since 2001 and from 2012 she is focused on religion extremism. She has won numerous awards for her reporting and was a 2015 recipient of the International Women of Courage Award from the US State Department. She has been a contributor to Balkan Insight and is currently editor-in-chief of Zëri - national daily newspaper in Kosovo.
I am a senior public relations practitioner with more than 10 years experience in communications (NYU & UCLA alumni). I'm a publicist of Let Go EU project.
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