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The bond between Fort Dodge and Gjakova continues to grow

‘We talked about things we can help them with and they can help us with’

-Submitted photo
Eric Anderson, executive director at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum, left, and Dr. Terry Moehnke, Fort Dodge city councilman and optometrist, stand together in Gjakova, Kosovo, recently.

The bond between Fort Dodge and its sister city of Gjakova in Kosovo continues to grow stronger, according to three Fort Dodge officials who visited the European country recently.

Dawn Larson, an economic development specialist for the city’s Engineering, Business Affairs and Community Growth Department; Dr. Terry Moehnke, Fort Dodge city councilman and optometrist; and Eric Anderson, executive director at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum, were in Kosovo May 6 through May 13.

Fort Dodge and Gjakova became sister cities in December 2016.

The three talked with officials in Gjakova, including the city’s mayor Ardian Gjini.

Topics included city government relations, art exchange, and youth exchange.

-Submitted photo
Pictured from left are Eric Anderson, executive director at the Blanden Memorial Art Museum; Dr. Terry Moehnke, Fort Dodge city councilman and optometrist; Deputy Prime Minister Behxhet Pacolli and Dawn Larson, an economic development specialist for the city’s Engineering, Business Affairs and Community Growth Department.

“We talked about things we can help them with and they can help us with,” Moehnke said.

Larson, who has now been to Kosovo twice, said it was important to connect with leadership there.

Moehnke said Fort Dodge and Gjakova have some similarities.

“Both are older communities, similar problems with infrastructure,” he said. “They have cobblestone streets. They struggle with repairs and drainage issues. They have a river front they are redeveloping. That will be a major project. The state is taking over a lot of properties.”

Moehnke said a lot of their city departments are spread out.

“They are trying to get everyone centralized,” he said.

Moehnke was complimentary of Gjini.

“He’s a very dynamic mayor,” he said. “With his connections, his leadership, they will see a lot of development.”

He added, “We don’t want to see them make the same mistakes we have.”

The city was very welcoming, Moehnke said.

“I don’t think we could have asked for a better reception,” Moehnke said. “Every opportunity they had to make us feel comfortable, they went out of their way.”

He added, “If we had a question or an interest in something they took care of it.”

In terms of art, Anderson talked about a couple exchange projects.

“We developed a project called the photo essay project,” Anderson said. “My role was to visit with the different department heads and citizens that I could find a leader for the program on that in Gjakova.”

Anderson brought four digital cameras that he gifted to citizens in Gjakova. He said the cameras were provided through a grant.

“I was able to hand those cameras off to individuals who would get those in the hands of youth and later to older populations,” Anderson said.

He said the idea is for each person to use the camera for a week to take pictures that reflect their life.

The images will then get downloaded to a common site. Citizens in Fort Dodge will do the same thing, he said.

The ultimate goal is create a picture book. The book will contain side-by-side pictures from Gjakova and Fort Dodge.

While in Gjakova, Anderson also met with the director of the library.

“I found out he was a poet and he has poetry meetings and readings in Hjakova and we hold poetry readings every month at the museum,” he said.

Anderson said the two have stayed in touch since he returned to Fort Dodge.

“We are going to do a poetry exchange, and we will put those into books as well,” he said.

Anderson said they plan to make both books available for purchase online.

“Hopefully it will be an ongoing project we can do every year with new images being produced,” he said. “They are very direct projects, but a really great way to bridge these communities through visual arts, through the written word. Both of those things have a strong, profound affect on people. We are all united and wanting best for citizens.”

Anderson said Kosovo is trying to move away from some of the war art displayed there and focus more on the beauty of their culture.

In 1998 and 1999 there was a brutal war between Kosovo and Serbia.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia about 10 years ago.

Today the country is peaceful.

“It’s a very safe country,” Moehnke said. “You don’t see a lot of police.”

Anderson added, “They want to respect the past, but they are also ready to move on.”

Larson said the education there is strong.

“They mentioned the two biggest educational focuses were economics and law,” she said.

She said the country overall is young.

“Fifty-three percent of the country’s citizens are under the age of 25,” she said. “Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe.”

Larson said Kosovo has done well as a country in recent times.

“If you consider Kosovo started off from scratch,” she said. “They have accomplished great things in a short amount of time.”

Larson said she has enjoyed her experiences.

“Kosovo is really full of opportunities for collaboration and we are looking forward to working with the new mayor in Gjakova,” she said. “I believe there are great opportunities to collaborate on education and economic development.”

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