Përdit'20 - DESANTILA MURIQI: I aimed to create a place where we can share positivity

1. Positivity challenge. Tell us more about that!

Fatima Kryeziu, Kosovo. The most positive photo.

Hello, I am Desantila, a 20-year old youngster from Kosovo. I am part of Leo Club Peja, which is the
youth branch under the subsidiary of Lions Clubs International. Leo Club Peja was established in 2019 for the first time in Kosovo. We were initially planning a lot of activities for 2020, as a follow-up of the previous activities from 2019. However, as you all know, Covid-19 hit us, and essentially everything we were planning was interrupted due to all the uncertainty and restrictions.

A few months later, once the situation started improving and the restrictions were lowered, we finally decided to meet. But when we first saw each other, it really felt surreal. The disappointment was apparent, and morale within the group was at an all-time low. But we had to move things forward. After discussing the difficulties we were facing, both personally and professionally, and encouraging each other, we finally started talking about the “elephant in the room”, which we were feeling so low about. This was our inability to proceed with our activities because of the pandemic.

Elena Metaj, Kosovo. Most-liked photo.

That's when I decided to share my idea (which I had been planning to do for quite some time but wanted to start it as a group and not as an individual initiative) of starting with Përdit'20. Basically, I aimed to create a place where we can share positivity and awareness during these complex times. By sharing pics, videos, our artworks, essentially anything which would contribute to the feeling of "being in this together". I aimed to start by raising the positivity within our group, and then to raise the impact by expanding our community. All of the participants in the meeting agreed and as such, we decided to start with this activity, where we would have no restriction nor border. We did not want to let the physical distancing separate us anymore. We wanted to be there for each other, and we wanted to hear from each other daily and use this as a motivation to move forward whilst also helping others move forward.

Emblema Zekaj, Kosovo. The best thought behind the text.

Then everything started clicking in a place like a domino effected.
We first named our initiative. The reason we named it Përdit'20 –‘përdit’ ' in the Albanian language means ‘every day’. We came up with the name during the first meeting. Edisa, Eron, Donika, Ema, Elmedina, Adea, and I, first came up with the name Përditshmëri (daily life)- and then after many modifications we got Përdit’20, which we are very proud of J ). Afterward, another Leo, Lejla, created our logo (which we are also very proud of J). This way, we started feeling like we were ready for this journey…

In August, with formidable enthusiasm and anticipation, we posted on our Instagram and Facebook pages the first picture. We then aimed to post one post per day and everything we posted had to be sent by the people. So this means we were not taking content from the internet. We wanted people to feel part of this community, and relate to what we posted authentically. For the following two months we posted a photo per day and the positive feedback we received kept us moving forward.

Eriona Kamberi, Serbia. The most positive photo.

Then one day while brainstorming, I had one idea, which I decided to share with my peers. I felt like we had now set a strong foundation for us to move beyond our current community, beyond Leo. My proposal was to start with a positivity challenge which would be an incentive for people to send their photos, drawings/paintings, pieces of writings, and anything which would spread positivity. The intention was not to urge people for something hard that requires a lot of effort but rather to share a moment of what they enjoy. The members liked the idea and we proceeded to host the first positivity challenge organized by Përdit'20. I was thoroughly touched and astonished by how much Përdit'20 had motivated all of us. Watching the energy transition. Seeing the faces of the members convert from one of disappointment from our initial meeting, to now a full room of members with full, determined faces. We were all unified under one purpose and a mission.

Genta Limani, Kosovo. First prize winner.

We proceeded to share our first announcement and our community started sharing it with their friends and networks. Wave by wave, the initiative caught momentum and became quite viral, far surpassing our initial expectations. We received many questions from interested people and we even had to postpone the deadline because of the sheer number of requests. "Spread positivity during COVID-19 while doing what you love" was our call for action.

Eventually, we welcomed 27 posts, all very creative and positive in their own ways. It was very fascinating to see how different people related to different posts. One post that was too positive to someone, may not necessarily have been as positive to the others. These varied perspectives, in a way, demonstrated to us the importance of having a larger community. The further the outreach, the more diverse our network and audience. As the premise of what people may constitute the definition of ‘positivity’ may vary widely, in this way we could achieve to impact a greater array of people positively.

Arsa Zogaj, Kosovo. The most interesting caption.

Moreover, we wanted to utilize this as an opportunity to also share their names and create a platform to increase awareness of the artists active in our field. We wanted to positively impact not just our audiences, but also the great contributors and activists who endeavor every day to spread positivity. This challenge proved to be a great initiative to also showcase the talent and achievements of our jury members.

We also wanted to create a link between the participants and the jury members, so that if the participants ever needed advice or support, they would have someone there for them.

Last but not least, it was very important for us to also build bridges amongst the jury members. Most of the jury members did not know each other as they came from different countries and diverse

Edoarta Metaj, Kosovo. Most-commented photo.

backgrounds, and we knew this was a good opportunity for them to connect and collaborate. (We are very happy to say this really worked, We have already seen the first several collaborations happen, between Belma and a young writer from Kosovo, another from Croatia, as well as my writing on this blog)

All the smiles that accompanied this process immensely motivated us to not let the end of this first initiative be the last.

2. What's next to come?

You should expect similar challenges and many new surprises. We will not be giving much info for now :)
So, follow our pages and be informed about everything :)

Elena Metaj, Kosovo. The best drawing prize.

Finally, I would like to use these concluding remarks as a call for anyone reading this blog, dear Belma,to join us in our initiative. To everyone, no matter where you are from, where you are currently living, what your hobbies or even your problems are... please feel free to join us. This pandemic situation has caused big problems to all of us, and as such, we need to unite in order to not break until the situation improves. A vaccine is on its way, and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Let us shine that tunnel with our light, and keep building on it.

3. What the ones who are interested in this need to do?

All you need to do is:

Fiona Hajredini from Kosovo. The most positive photo.
Follow our pages (either Facebook or Instagram): @perdit_20 and feel free
to contact us for anything. Let us know whether you're interested in participating in the challenges, or becoming a jury. And even if not so, it's alright. You're more than welcome to join us. You never know you might get great inspiration!
Anytime you feel like you've captured, watched/heard, written, drew, something positive/interesting/cool/inspirational... Be sure to send us an email at leoclubpeja@hotmail.com
Wait for the end of each month to have recapture of all the most beautiful moments of the month.
Share your thoughts, feelings, through your creativity.
Meet new friends and feel connected, with us!
Join us and stay tuned :)

DESANTILA MURIQI:

Hi everyone, I am Desantila. If I were to describe myself in three words, those would be Open-Minded, Ambitious, and rebellious J I speak five languages and hold a great passion for culture and international relations. I am also a lover of science and nature. I utilize my curious character to volunteer for numerous organizations, having traveled across Europe on a number of projects as a representative of Kosovo. This has enabled me to expand my network with people of diverse backgrounds. Moreover, I have recently been selected as a Young European Attaché for Western Balkans, and I will have this tenure for 3 years. One of my key areas of interest is Youth Welfare, in which, for me, one of the most important points is mental health. Thus, for quite some time now it has been very important for me to achieve causing a positive impact in my community when it comes to this issue, especially with the new situation which has emerged due to the pandemic, I believe this has become crucial importance. This is how everything started, continued with Përdit'20, and everything led to the Positivity Challenge J

I use this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank everyone who took part in the first positivity challenge. You are the reason this initiative on mental health and positivity during covid-19 was a success and pushed positivity beyond the community ☀

Grateful to @barbara.boltis, @bellspiration, @beniaminphotography, @diellaillustrations, @enkelamaxhuni_, @klaraa.gordon, @milauzemljicuda, @qbdd_, @themoonisawoman, @yoons_3, and one of our juries who decided to remain anonymous, for their valuable insight, experience, and time as juries in this challenge.