On 27 October 2015, the municipality of Dropull, inhabited by the Greek minority in Albania, organized a folkloric festival celebrating their traditions, language, culture and customs.
The event was organized as part of the regional joint programme funded by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe “Promoting Human Rights and Minority Protection in South East Europe”, whose goal is to improve access to rights for minorities at various levels of government.
Inhabitants of the area gathered at the Culture Center of the village of Dervician and attended a concert with songs and dances from the women group of Selo village of Dropull i Siperm, the group of men of Dervician village, students of the Greek language department of the University of Gjirokastra and those of the high schools of the region. The songs and dances were performed in the different traditional costumes of the region, which represent a precious historic and cultural patrimony for the Greek minority living in Albania.
During the event, the well-known etnograph Stavri Cati presented the elements of the traditional costumes of Dropull, explaining the background of each element in relation to traditions and the lifestyle of the community and how these elements have evolved throughout years.
Twenty four young people received certificates for completing a six-months embroiding coarse on how to make traditional costumes of the Dropull area and fifteen young people received a certificate for accomplishing a five-day training on how to start a business.
A documentary marking the 75 anniversary of what is known in history as the Italian-Greek war was shown, prepared by the students of the Greek language department of the “Eqerem Cabej” University of Gjirokastra. The documentary portrayed the contribution of the Greek people during the Second World War. The event was attended also by the Mayor of Dropulli Ahilea Decka, members of Parliament elected in the area, and representatives of Greek minority political parties.
Through the joint project with the European Union on “Promoting Human Rights and Minority Protection in South East Europe”, the Council of Europe is able to provide support to 36 local governments in seven beneficiary countries in South East Europe.
Through a very transparent procedure, the project’s Steering Committee composed of members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Local Issues with support of the EU delegation in Tirana selected six municipalities in Albania that are part of the small grant scheme, and are organizing activities in support of minorities. Thus, beside Dropull there were selected also the municipalities of: Fier, Permet, Shijak and Shkodra.
The Council of Europe will ensure that the issues addressed and the approach taken are in line with the recommendations of monitoring reports of Council of Europe treaties in the minority protection field – thereby supporting municipalities and indeed the Beneficiaries to bridge the gap between international commitments and concrete barriers inhibiting the rights of minorities.
The main thrust of the Project will focus on building the capacity of the municipalities to implement their projects. This is where the practical application of human rights standards will be put into practice – through concrete changes in policy and practice in the municipalities, drawing in relevant examples as required.
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