Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Kledia | Tirana, Albania | Week 8

This last week we got to work on something new. We got connected to the Albanian Coastal Agency -- they are a agency under the Ministry of Tourism and deal with all things regarding the coast. They are a completely new agency and they are currently experimenting and trying new things. It was really interesting to be there and see how they function because they are full of innovative ideas that might seem a little strange to others in the country. One program that they launched last week that we were a part of was volunteer camps in 10 sights on the coast. Students will stay in these camps and help clean up the beaches and figure out the problems the coastal areas have, along with fun activities. Albania doesn't really have a volunteering culture and it's not something that people would jump at so it's a little difficult to get students to volunteer. We've been helping with  the promotion of the program and have been trying to get non-Albanians to come and volunteer. Last week at the grand opening at one of the camps, we were inviting to come along and we briefly met the prime minister! I awkwardly waved and said hi to him so that was pretty cool.


This weekend I also got a chance to visit Saranda -- one of the most popular tourist destinations in Albania. There were a lot of tourists there and it was crazy to see all the tourists. It was a really beautiful place! Here's some photos from my trip down south.



I also visited Butrint -- which is a UNESCO protected site. Butrint is a archaeological park with ruins from ancient Greece, Rome, and the Byzantine Empire. It was an amazing place and I couldn't believe how nice it was. 

  






 

1 comment:

  1. Kledia,

    It was interesting reading your post (from a student in the Galapagos) because I just read another post all about volunteering and how willing people are to help. I wonder why the volunteer culture is so weak. Volunteering and service learning has really caught on in the U.S. because many schools and universities require it. I wonder if something like that could be done in Albania. A program like the coastal one you described would be a major undertaking- that's for sure. How was the turn out? What kind of promotions did you do to boost attendance? I think it sounds like a great idea.

    Best,
    Tammy

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