At the Media Center of AAB College, a special lecture was delivered for students of the Faculty of Public Administration by Mrs. Jennifer A. Taylor, Professor of Political Science at James Madison University, USA.

The topic of this lecture was “Evolution of Pro-Social Behavior in a Democracy: The U.S”, which mainly focused on the importance of non-profit organizations.

On this occasion, the Vice Rector of AAB College, Shemsedin Vehapi thanked Professor Taylor for this special lecture for AAB students and said that this topic is especially important for countries like Kosovo, which is in the early stages of building democracy.

“The democracy we are living in and what we are learning, at least we hope, are two different worlds. “Democracy is not built with political statements, but it is built by intervening in the process of shaping people in the early stages, especially in the educational processes that take place in schools”, said Vice Rector Vehapi.

This lecture, which is part of the group of experts that the US Embassy brings to Kosovo for various fields, was greeted by the representative from this embassy, ​​Erin Mainz.

In her speech, she spoke about the importance of these lectures that the American Embassy brought to Kosovo, where she said that experts in various fields who come here, play a key role in the development of democracy in the country.

“Professor Taylor is here to talk about civil society and the development of non-governmental organizations, as civil society and NGOs play a key role in the development of democracy. This role is played not only in countries like Kosovo, which is a 10-year-statehood country, but also in our country, which is a 200-year-old democratic state. “Our democracy is still evolving and changing and civil society is playing a key role.”

She also introduced the “Fulbright” program which is a good opportunity for students, and in some cases for professors from Kosovo to spend one or two semesters in the US. Mainz gave details about the “Fulbright” program where he said that students who want to apply in this program, must have completed the Bachelor level.

While, Professor Taylor in her lecture spoke about the evolution of the non-profit sector in the US and the role of this sector in society.

Speaking about the importance of NGOs in the US, she said that in 2016-2017 alone, American citizens have given $ 390 billion to non-governmental organizations, a sum which she said is quite high, but that these organizations play a great role in U.S. democracy.

She added that NGOs, in addition to their role in democratizing society, also present opportunities for financial income as well as employment.

In this lecture, which was attended by a considerable number of students of the Faculty of Public Administration of AAB College, there were many questions and conversations with Professor Taylor on topics related to NGOs and their role in society.