Beauty in Variety in Mullet, Albania

By Marshall de Souza (short UK report)

This was a Youth in Action project organized in Albania in partnership with four other countries: Kosovo, Macedonia, the UK and Italy. The seven young participants from each country presented their own culture and history in the form of videos, PowerPoint talks, dance, songs, traditional dress, and even Italian pizza- making! There were workshops focused on cultural exchange, promoting values of openness, appreciation of differences, and European integration. Participants were divided into small mixed groups from the five countries in order to have direct experience of people and cultures different from their own.

Part of the schedule consisted of visits to historical sites of Albania, such as Kruja castle and the National Museum in Tirana. As a result of their presentations and participation in the workshops, the participants put together two combined performances which were presented to 120 school children and their teachers, and the local community, making the children and adults aware of the richness of various cultural traditions and history.

The final step of the project was the making and presenting of a short documentary film by each group, combining photographs and video captions taken during the week of activities, which could then be shown in all the participating countries.

The project generated immense joy, enthusiasm and learning for each and every participant; friendships were most definitely created, as well as meaningful relationships through the sporting activities (volleyball and table tennis), walks in the surrounding area and discussions at meal times and evenings.

Praise should be given to the organisers, Marjeta Rroshi and K. M. for a splendid job done, and sincere thanks to all the staff for their wonderful effort. Last of all, a big thank you to all the thirty-five participants for their huge investment that has made this European inter-cultural project a great success!