Over 100 representatives from the Albanian Parliament, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth, education institutions, development partners and civil society organisations debated the future of citizenship and human rights education in Albania at a videoconference organized by Council of Europe in Tirana on 19 November.

Participants discussed current challenges and opportunities in this area, shared examples of good practices and lessons learned, and proposed recommendations for future action, including policy recommendations and measures that could cumulatively enhance the capacity of the formal education system to develop competences for a democratic culture in school children.

The participants at the conference reaffirmed their determination not to allow the health crisis to turn into a crisis of democracy, and underlined that education is key to the endeavour to make our society sustainable and resilient, recognising the need to draw the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to enable the Albanian education institutions to meet future crises as well as to adjust and improve their functioning in the longer term.

The network of 25 democratic and inclusive schools which will act as a community of practice and peer exchange was also launched.

The videoconference was organised by Council of Europe in close cooperation with the Albanian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in framework of the project “Strengthening Democratic Citizenship Education in Albania” funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.