The third and final roundtable dedicated to promoting the right of self-identification as a national minority was held in Korça, marking the conclusion of the awareness-raising events organised earlier in Kukës and Dropull. The roundtable was organised by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in co-operation with the Committee for National Minorities, with the support of the Council of Europe and the European Union joint action Advancing the Protection from Discrimination in Albania, in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania.
The roundtable in Korça focused on strengthening the self-identification process, encouraging inclusive participation and ensuring communities understand the procedures and legal safeguards on the protection of national minorities. Participants were introduced to the toolkit for civil society organisations and the informative leaflet available in all minority languages, designed to support the process.
Throughout the discussions, the mayor of Pustec Municipality, Pali Kolefski, highlighted the importance of informed self-identification as a cornerstone for effective protection of minority rights, improved representation and evidence-based policy making. The event also provided an open forum for participants to share experiences, raise questions and exchange views.
The three roundtables part of this awareness raising initiative gathered approximately 200 participants representing all nine national minorities recognised by law in Albania: Greek, Macedonian, Aromanian, Roma, Egyptian, Montenegrin, Bosnian, Serbian and Bulgarian, alongside with representatives from public institutions and civil society organisations. This initiative marks an important milestone in strengthening dialogue with local communities and ensuring wider outreach across regions of Albania.
This initiative is supported by the action Advancing the protection from discrimination in Albania part of the EU and Council of Europe joint programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye, in co-operation with the OSCE Presence in Albania.
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