TIRANA, November 10 /ATSH/ – From north to south, the country’s cultural treasures took center stage last night at the Palace of Brigades during a special gala hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sports and attended by UNESCO experts.
The event took place within the framework of the 20th edition of the Annual Conference of the UNESCO Network of Experts on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Southeast Europe.
During the evening, Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Sports, Blendi Gonxhja, stated:
“We are proudly sharing our values and traditions. Today and tomorrow, our technical staff and UNESCO experts are holding a workshop to strengthen cooperation in preserving and promoting this living heritage,” said Minister Gonxhja.
Among the many guests present at the event there were Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha and Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu.
“Intangible cultural heritage is much more than a memory of the past. It is a living part of our identity—of how we live and tell our history, how we preserve our distinctiveness, and, at the same time, how we build bridges between people and cultures,” stated Minister Hoxha.
He emphasized that preserving, promoting and passing on this heritage to younger generations is a shared responsibility, as well as an opportunity to transform culture into an even more powerful space for cooperation between our countries.
Minister Hoxha thanked Minister Blendi Gonxhja and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sports for organizing this special evening, which highlighted the sounds, dances, traditions and the rich spirit of Albanian culture.
On her part, Deputy Prime Minister Koçiu described cultural heritage as one of a nation’s most precious assets.
“On the path toward the European Union, Albania has as much to share as it does to learn. We do not join Europe by leaving our identity behind; rather, we enrich the European family by proudly bringing our unique history, identity, and values to the table,” said Albana Koçiu.
The evening served as a testament to the richness of Albanian cultural heritage and the importance of international cooperation in preserving it and passing it on to future generations. /j.p/p.s./
