Aurela Kadriu presented the unique approach of Kosovo Oral History Initiative (KOHI) at the seminar “Inside Out/Inside In,” organized in Pristina by ForumZFD in collaboration with the Program for Gender Studies and Research of the University of Prishtina on December 16, 2016.
Departing from practices of dealing with the past and investigating collective memory by focusing on groups, KOHI chooses to gather oral history individual testimonies in order to offer, as stated in its mission, “a closer reflection of the point of view of the narrators, the powerful and the powerless. It allows for contradictions, uncertainties and mistakes that reveal anxieties, fears, aspirations and dreams. It includes a more lasting portrait of this collectivity through individual testimonies that recollect their intimate experiences within the family and their connection with their country. This is why we are building a visual archive for Kosovo – we take the orality of our sources very seriously.”