Vetëvendosje was founded in 2005 as a successor of the Kosova Action Network (KAN), a group promoting active citizenry and direct political participation of the masses. KAN was founded in 1997 by a group of international activists that supported the 1997 student protests in Kosovo against the occupation of the campus of the University of Pristina by the Yugoslav Police. During the Kosovo War, KAN participated in documenting war crimes and during 1999 and 2000 KAN campaigned for the release of Albanian prisoners of war. In 2003, KAN moved its headquarters to Kosovo.