Civic Education
CIVIC EDUCATION
Visits and activities at the memorial site
In the framework of civic education, the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents (AIDSSH) has organized visits and activities in sites of memory.
On February 10, 2017, on the framework of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Musine Kolalari, the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents (AIDSH) in cooperation with the OSCE conducted a visit to the city of Rrëshen, where meetings were held with representatives of the local government.
On August 30, 2017, on the International Day of the Disappeared, in cooperation with representatives of the OSCE and the Diplomatic Corp in Albania, the Institute for the Integration of the Politically Persecuted, the Institute for the Study of Crimes and Consequences of Communism in Albania, other state institutions, and the Municipality Tepelenë, the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents, organized the presentation of the "National Memorial of Labour Camps" project in commemoration of the victims who suffered punishment in forced labour camps in Albania during the communist dictatorial regime.
On November 22, 2017, AIDSSH, in cooperation with the Faculty of Construction Engineering, the Academy of Albanian Studies and the Institute of History, organized a commemorative activity for the execution of the "Saboteur Group" of the Maliqi Engineers, in commemoration of the day of their execution and to shed light on the firing of the engineers.
On December 20, 2017, at the "Luigj Gurakuqi" Shkodër University Library, a meeting was organized with students of the city of Shkodra, in which the association of former political persecuted as well as various media participated. After that, we visited the Museum of Historical Memory, the Franciscan Church and the Rrmaj Cemetery, also known for the volleys of bullets fired at dozens of intellectual, innocent Catholic Clergy executed during the communist dictatorship in 1945-1948.
On August 18, 2019, in cooperation with the Lushnja Municipality and the administrative units of the villages of the former internees, with the associations of the persecuted persons, survivors and their families, the Authority developed the first phase of the local dialogue in the area with the theme; “Dignity facing totalitarianism".
On August 23, 2019, in the course of the annual activities organized by the Authority within the framework of the European Day of Victims of Totalitarian Regimes, in cooperation with the Municipality of Tepelena, the Association of Politically Persecuted Persons, IIPP, survivors of the camp and their families, held commemorative meetings in the camp of Tepelena.
On September 20-22, 2019, members of the Authority, as part of the expansion of the local dialogue about the dictatorship in all provinces, held a local dialogue in Konispol, holding open meetings with the community, on the 60th anniversary of the massacre in the area.
On October 21-22, 2019, the Authority held preliminary working meetings in Voskopoja, Korçë and Maliq, for the Local Dialogue on Dictatorship.
December 13, 2019 the Authority open the Dialogue on the past in Përmet, in cooperation with the Municipality of Përmet and the Anti-Communist Association of the Politically Persecuted.
February 20-26, 2019 – In Peza Mënik, Tirana, the Authority held an activity on declaring a memorial site the place where 22 intellectuals were executed, on the charge of throwing a bomb at the Soviet Embassy.
On June 3-8, 2019, the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents conducted a working visit to the USA, at the Albanian Community in the USA with the invitation of the Vatra Pan-Albanian Federation and the Victims of Communism Foundation.
On July 21, 2020, the documentary "Persecution of the Kulaks in the Dictatorship" by journalist Luljeta Progni was presented in the village of Gostimë in the Municipality of Cërrik.
On August 23, 2020, on the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes, the annual pilgrimage of pain, took place in the internment campof Tepelena, with the Authority representatives and survivors of the Tepelena camp.
On February 19, 2021, the Central State Film Archive opened its doors to the Authority and concrete proposals for cooperation, 30 years after the fall of the statue of dictator Enver Hoxha.
On February 26, 2021, the Authority commemorated those persons executed on February 26 on the occasion of the 70th anniversary, paying homage at the Martyrs' Cemetery.
On 27- May 28, 2021, in the framework of the ICMP-AIDSSH project "Increasing public awareness of transitional and reconciliation justice: addressing the issue of missing persons during the communist period", supported by the European Union, was organized a visit to Shkodra and Malesia e Madhe.
During two days, June 28 and 29, 2021, an extended route was traversed from Vlora to Himarë, Porto Palermo, Borsh, Saint Vasil, Sarandë, Konispol and the surroundings, for determination of the places (camps, internment, prisons, etc.) to be visited and made known, during the activities for the missing persons.
On July 7-8, 2021, the Authority held commemorative presentation of the guide for the families of the missing persons in Himara and Saranda.
During August 23-24, 2021 on the European Day of Victims of Totalitarianism, the Authority held a recognition and commemorative trip for the missing persons in the area of Tepelena and Gjirokastra.
On September 16, 2021 in the Maliq Municipality, the Authority presented the publication "The truth of the engineers of the Maliq swamp”.
On February 3-6, 2020, the Authority and representatives of the Parliament of Albania conducted a working visit in Warsaw at the Polish National Institute of Remembrance - Polish experience in uncovering the past and restoring dignity to the victims of totalitarianism.
On April 24-27, 2019, the Authority conducted a working visit in Brussels, with the invitation of the Association of former Albanian political victims in Belgium and the Albanian-European National Council.
On June 3-8, 2019, the Authority conducted a working visit to the USA in cooperation with Voice of America, with which the Authority signed an agreement.
On August 13-16, 2020 - Making Memory Alive Together, ENRS, (online project in English) ENRS proposed to the Authority and European partners a joint online project, in the conditions of the pandemic. The materials prepared by the Authority in the English language were a summary of the project and the publication "When Security was dealing with science" and a video of the exhibition "The Unfinished Past - Disappeared in the Dictatorship" and were distributed by ENRS.
Within the framework of the annual meetings of the institutions of the European Network of authorities responsible for the archives of former secret police, on January 28, 2021, the Authority participated in the online meeting held by the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes.
In 2021, an online familiarization and presentation meeting was held with civil society, within the project: "Increasing public awareness of transitional justice and reconciliation: the disappeared in communism." According to representatives of the German BSTU "There could not be a better candidate than Albania, which is opening the files of communism and telling the story behind the secret documents, cooperating with public and local institutions, academics, interest groups, rights associations of man and benefited from the experience of counterparts".
On February 1, 2021, the OSCE Ambassador, Vincenzo Del Monaco, met with Mrs. Gentiana Sula, head of the Authority, one of the main partner institutions of the OSCE Presence in Albania.
On February 3, 2021, the Authority held an online workshop on the management of data on the missing, in cooperation with the Regional Office for the Western Balkans of the ICMP
On February 10, 2021, an online workshop was held on the benefits of using deep-penetrating radars to identify and locate the missing, the Authority collaboration with the Regional Office for the Western Balkans of the ICMP, increasing the level of recognition of the work with the missing, even in the field.
On February 22, 2021, the OSCE Presence in Albania organized the online meeting within the project "Lustration in Albania: Past and ANNUAL REPORT 2021.
On March 12, 2021, the Authority, in cooperation with the Wikimedians of Albanian Language User Group, organized the training "When Security was dealing with science".
On March 26, 2021, the Online Workshop "Experience in working with digital archive systems and digitizing processes" of the Authority with the Archive of the National Institute of Remembrance in Poland took place.
On April 21, 2021, a representative of the Pan-Albanian Federation "Vatra" visited the Authority.
An extended inter-institutional delegation, with representatives of the Authority, the Parliament of Albania, the State Police, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Institute of Forensic Medicine, and well-known journalists, on October 11-15, 2021, conducted a working visit to the Polish counterpart institution, the Institute of National Memory, IPN.
On 14-16 December 2021, an extended team of the Authority conducted a working visit to the counterpart institution, the Historical Archive of the Hungarian Secret Services, in Budapest, Exchange of experience with the Hungarian counterpart ABTL.
January 28, 2022, The Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents, Elbasan Municipality and the Municipal Council, the Elbasan Digital Archive and the National Library, in close cooperation with interest groups, organized the activity "Uran Kostreci - life, dissent, works", in the premises of the Theater "Skampa”.
The activity was intended to bring attention to Uran Kostreci, presented through the surveillance file, political activity, free thought and speech, literary creativity, contribution as a teacher and founder of the magazine "Liberty", as well as the exhibition of books, writings, newspapers and the testimony given for the project “Even Walls Have Ears” (EMKV).
On June 28-30, 2022, The Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents, participated at the annual meeting of the European Network of Former Secret Police Archives, which this year took place in Budapest. The meeting was organized by the Historical Archive of the Hungarian Secret Services (ABTL). The network, from Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, as well as representatives of member institutions with observer rights, from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia.
On August 17, 2022, The Authority Commemorates the 73rd anniversary of the Valmir massacre, the day when 14 innocents was executed by court decision, based on "indications, presumptions and indirect evidence".
On August 23, 2022, On the European Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Totalitarianism, as every year, the Authority held the pilgrimage of pain in the Tepelena camp, in memory of the innocent people who suffered in the former barbed wire camp or lost their lives there.
On August 30, 2022, On the International Day of Missing Persons, the Authority brought together hundreds of survivors, family members, representatives of the Authority's counterpart and partner institutions, representatives of the artistic community in the country, interest groups, representatives of the central and local government, the diplomatic corps and the media in the hall and cinema "Millennium", for the premiere of documentary “Butterflies”, the stories of 21 girls who survived the generations of internment in Gradishtë and Sayër of Lushnja. The director and his team have interviewed them in different countries of the globe where they live today, from the USA to Canada and across Europe, making together in an extended mosaic, their stories about the life they started in exile, in Savër and Gradishtë.
On September 13, 2022, the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents participated at the activities organized by the Swedish Embassy, within the Swedish cultural week, in the city of Shkodra, which aimed to present the local and central partners supported with funds from the Swedish Government for the realization of their activities. The Authority's team presented scientific publications and periodical bulletins, which describe the Authority's activity over the years, official acts, activities within the memory, etc. There was also a high interest in the scientific publications of the Authority from the general public, who visited the stand of AIDSSH and attracted the exhibited materials.
On September 27, 2022, The OSCE Presence in Albania organized a study visit to Croatia for representatives of the main institutions in this field, such as the General Prosecutor's Office, the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents, the Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Scientific Police. Croatia's extensive experience in investigating and prosecuting cases of enforced disappearances can help the Albanian authorities to advance the work of identifying and finding the remains of persons who disappeared during the communist regime. The program included a visit to the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Institute of Forensic Medicine and Forensics of Croatia. Speaking at the meeting organized at the ministry, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Veterans Affairs, Tomo Medved, offered his institution's unstinting support to the Albanian authorities in their efforts to make progress in identifying and finding the remains of the missing. Officials of this ministry introduced the Albanian delegation to the Croatian model of searching for missing persons, while representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Zagreb Prosecutor's Office and the State Archives spoke about their role in the search process.
On October 11, 2022, The Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents held a meeting in the city of Vlora with the association of Former Political Victims of the city. The opening of documents in the archives of the Authority, the disclosure of local testimonies on the sufferings of former political convicts, the identification and finding of the missing, the return to centers that can be visited by young people of schools, settlements of internees and camps of former convicts politics, were the topics on which the conversation was focused during this meeting.
On November 15, 2022, The Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents organized the discussion on the book "Man versus monster. The endless files of Musa Sines documents and reflections", by the author Jozef Radi, a book written on documents of the former State Security. The conversation about the book, the events, life in prison, exile and then freedom of one of the thousands of victims of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the treatment of the Sigurimi documents not only through documentation but also through synthesizing analysis, included in the debate historical researchers, representatives of the Authority, friends and co-sufferers of the author.
On November 21, 2022, The Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents, held a meeting with students and young people from all over Albania, as part of the "My Muse" activity, dedicated to the memory of Musine Kokalari, organized by CHWB Albania (Cultural Heritage Without Border Albania), in the city of Gjirokastra.
On November 23, 2022, The Authority in cooperation with the association "Tirana", ASA, the Municipality of Tirana, the Ministry of Culture and the National Museum organized "Tirana under the control of the communist government - taxes, confiscations, deportations, resistance at the beginning of the totalitarian regime 1945-1949" an open lesson by Dr. Boriçi.
December 7, 2022 The Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents, within the framework of December 8, the National Youth Day, as well as in fulfillment of its mission, for the creation of a comprehensive platform for the understanding of the communist past in Albania , organized for the public, partners, former political persecuted, students and friends of the Authority, the performance of the monodrama "The Milky Way", directed by Armando Boren and performed by the actress Egia Ceno.
December 13, 2022, A team of the Authority, headed by Chairperson Gentiana Sula, accompanied by MPs Dhurata Cupi Tyli and Bledion Nallbati held important activities, during a several-day visit to Brussels, within the mission of shedding light on the communist past of our country, meeting representatives of the Albanian Community in Belgium, representatives of the European Union Delegation. On this framework was screened the film "Even the walls have ears", a production of the Project “Even Walls Have Ears”, a multi-dimensional project dedicated to sharing the untold stories of Albanian’s dictatorship 1944-1991 through story-telling, photography, film and conceptual art. The project was launched May 2018 with a series of six light installations by activist conceptual artist Alketa Xhafa-Mripa. From sunset to sunrise, statements of survivors had wanted to say publicly were projected on to buildings for all to read, as part of the UN’s Remembrance to Heal and Prevent Campaign in Albania. The making of the conceptual art work was filmed in a documentary Even Walls Have Ears, and launched in Tirana October, 2019. The project is continued to be run by Albanian -American journalist Kristale Ivezaj Rama, who maintains the website in English and Albanian, growing social media platforms while working on a collection of memoirs with the help of post-graduate students, volunteers, and the Authority for Access to Ex-Secret Service Files. So far, more than 50 survivors have participated, in 15 cities, and 6 countries, and photographed by a notable photographer in their respective city.
On December 8 and 9, 2022, it was held at the Srebrenica Memorial Center. Potocari (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the international meeting of experts entitled: "Contribution of archives for transitional and wider justice", in which the Authority for Information with Documents of the former State Security was represented by its representants.