Culture Of Albania

·      Training for Bosnian Legal Professionals ($500,000) – Train Bosnian legal professionals in the Bosnian Criminal Code as well as international law standards.  [Read More]

11/28/00: White Conference on Culture and Diplomacy

Prof. Rita Dove, Commonwealth Professor of Poetry, University of Virginia, former Poet Laureate of the United States ...

Mr. Brian Sexton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Professional and Cultural Exchanges, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State ...

Mr. Van S. Wunder III, Director, Office of Citizen Exchanges, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

There is no designated housing at post other than that for the Ambassador.  Other State housing is assigned by the Inter Agency Housing Board (IAHB) on the basis of arrival, vacancy, family size, and rank.  An increasing number of Embassy staff reside outside the compound in various neighborhoods of Tirana where it is possible to find housing that meets Western standards.  USAID participates in IAHB. FurnishingsLast Updated:  9/30/2003 9:34 AM All residences are fully furnished.  Furniture provided by the Embassy generally includes a suite of living room furniture, (sofa, loveseat, two arm chairs, coffee table, and end tables); a suite of dining room furniture seating 6–8; a breakfast set for the kitchen; a master bedroom suite including one queen bed; and a suit ... [Read More]

Fulbright Gallery : The Artist and His Fulbright Experience

I received a Fulbright fellowship to Albania in 1994 to document, through photographs and interviews, daily life in the northern region. The fieldwork for this project, collaboration with my wife Marjorie Senechal, was conducted in the northern city of Shkodra, in the villages nearby, and in the remote mountain villages of the Malesi e Madhe and Dukagjin regions. With a camera around my neck and a tape recorder in Marjorie's hand, we visited the homes and work places of people from all walks of life. We also had many chance encounters that led to impromptu interviews and photographs. Although the Fulbright to Albania was not our first visit (we were there in 1992) it was the first extended visit. This allowed us to pry beneath the surface of life and gain insights that are only possible through time. We found that not only were people extraordinarily hospitable and welcoming, they also wanted to talk about their lives. ... [Read More]

Albania

The ethnic Greek minority, led by their cultural association Omonia, have a variety of complaints against the Government. Minority leaders cite the Government's unwillingness to recognize the existence of ethnic Greek towns, such as Himara, that are not considered part of communist-era "minority zones"; to utilize Greek on official documents and on public signs in ethnic Greek areas; to address effectively crimes committed against ethnic Greeks, particularly allegations that communal property is being taken illegally by means of fraudulent documents and in some cases with complicity of the courts; to ascertain the size of the ethnic Greek population; and to include a higher number of ethnic Greeks in public administration. Omonia is also concerned about the lack of access to Greek-language education. Greek-language public elementary schools are common in much of the southern part of the country, where almost all ethnic Greeks live. Every village in this zone has its own elementary-midd ... [Read More]

CultureConnect – Cultural Envoys Program – Cultural Program Division – Citizen Exchanges

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs' Cultural Envoys Program is an initiative under the auspices of the CultureConnect program that aims to utilize the talents of average Americans to engage with young people around the globe. Courtland Freeman and Omari Faulkner are graduates of Georgetown University who have just completed four years of inter-collegiate, division one NCAA basketball. They will serve as ECA's first cultural envoys for sports in a pilot program focused on using basketball to increase mutual understanding and illustrate some of the positive aspects of American culture, including teamwork, free expression and hard work. They will travel to four regions and develop and run basketball clinics, visit schools and speak with young people between the ages of 12 and 25 about sports and educational issues. ... [Read More]

Albania

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and the Government generally respected this right in practice. According to the Constitution, there is no official religion, and all religions are equal; however, the predominant religious communities (Sunni, Bektashi, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic) enjoy de facto recognition that gives them the legal right to hold bank accounts, own property and buildings, and to function as legal entities based on their historical presence in the country. Religious movements--with the exception of the four de facto recognized religions--may acquire the official status of a legal entity by registering under the Law on Associations, which recognizes the status of a nonprofit association irrespective of whether the organization has a cultural, recreational, religious, or humanitarian character. While the Government does not require registration or licensing of religious groups, the State Committee on Cult ... [Read More]

Albania

Police separated men from women in pretrial detention centers and prisons which, as of July, were under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice. Pretrial detainees were not separated from convicted prisoners due to overcrowding.The country has no juvenile justice system, and children's cases frequently were presented to judges who had not received any education in juvenile justice. In cooperation with international donors, Albania's Magistrate's School attempted to address this problem by offering continuing legal education courses in the area of juvenile justice for judges. The Ministry of Justice reported that a total of 17 minors were serving prison sentences: 6 in pretrial detention centers and 11 in Vaqarr--the only prison in the country that has a special wing for juveniles. The Children's Human Rights Center (CRCA) noted that, while juveniles at Vaqarr were held in a separate wing of the prison, they mixed with adult prisoners ... [Read More]

Balkans - US Department of State
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V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]