Albanian Society in Development
Kashar, Tirana, Albani
Tirana
Albania
- Arts
- Democracy and community development
- Environment/Sustainable development
- Gender
- Heritage
- Human rights
- International/Cultural relations
- Media
- Religion
- Youth and education
ASD Albania was established in March 2000 with the initiative of a group of young activists. Our members are young people 14 – 35 years old. We want to make dreams become reality for the youth of our country. “The youth should have a role in decision making and a definite role of participation in our society” We have been working under Youth in Action program and now Erasmus Plus which is our main focus. We have 5 Board members that are elected from 3/5 of the total number of members. The Board elects the Executive director and Secretary. Right now we have a total of 200 active volunteers. There are mainly high schoolers and students. An important part of our volunteers are young people from rural areas that we try to make active part of civil society . A valuable asset are also the High School students that have been proposing interesting ideas about projects regarding youth empowerment and human rights . Healthy lifestyle and promoting projects especially about women health are the medicine students that have been ready to take part in voluntary projects. Youth Exchanges, Training Courses, Study visits, Workshops are some of our activities.
The aims and purposes of ASD Albania are to develop the civil society in Albania; make awareness to maintain human, national, democratic and cultural values. Promote human rights giving special emphasis to youth and children. Encourage youth participation in decision making processes and in local and regional life. Cooperate and coordinate the activity with international organizations with similar nature on local and center levels, which take part or propose national and international projects in the field of human rights and freedom. Stimulate the gender equality (sensibilization of the society for the role of everyone in the society, empowering of the individuals rights in particular, the questions of minority group, social inclusions and woman rights are issues that we are keenly aware of, and seek to promote in our work.
Some of our recent activities in the last 5years are:
✓Food and exercise for a healthy life (FEEL) - Cyprus 2020,
✓ Silence is not Gold - Georgia 2019,
✓ Silence is not Gold - Bulgaria 2019,
✓ Make me Technopreuner -Turkey 2018,
✓ Draw to Change Reality - Georgia 2018,
✓ Eat Cook and Love - Poland 2017,
✓ Erasmus and Youth - Albania 2017,
✓ Achieving Communication Excellence (ACE) - Malta 2017
✓ Bringing Bigger Smiles to Albania - Albania 2017
✓ Social Entrepreneurship for Youth Lifestyle - Romania 2016
✓ Peace Building Initiatives - Georgia 2016
✓ Youth on the Radio - UK 2015
✓ We are not victim of modern Technology - Slovakia 2015
✓ Social Entrepreneurship for Youth Lifestyle-Rumania 2015
✓ Our Common Heritage: Traditional Clothes-Turkey 2015
✓Youth Voice - Turkey 2015
✓ ICL-it - Georgia 2015
✓ Youth in Migration - Malta 2015
✓ Youth and Non Formal Education - Albania 2015 We have also realized WomenvsBreastCancer, a national campaign aiming women empowerment. Earlier in time we have organized study visits, meetings with local authorithies, establishing of a community center in collaboration with 'Association for Youth Socio-Cultural Development' for rural youth, Vocational training for unemployed rural youth (computers courses, English courses, sewing courses etc.), EVS projects etc. Some of them are:
✓Round table with local authorities, religious, political and NGO representatives on the risk of trafficking of human beings, Albania 2000
✓Organising of the Short Study Visit: “Raising awareness on gender balance amongst youngsters in Europe” in collaboration with youth organizations from France, Portugal, Macedonia and Albania 2001
✓Training Course on Youth Partnership–Building and Project Management, 2004 ✓Short Study Visit: “South Balkan YOUTH Dialogue” in collaboration with ICYE International Participants 2005
✓ 1 EUROPE - 1000 IDENTITIES, Spain/EYCI, 2005
✓Workshop “The European YOUTH programme: Possibilities for participation and future perspectives” in Tirana, Albania. 2005
✓Information Day on YOUTH Program, in collaboration with the MTCYS- 2006
✓Mid-term Evaluation Joint mid-term meeting and issue seminar titled “Young people as agents of change in Civil Society” for EU EVS in SEE - 2006
✓Exploring the Potential of Volunteers in HIV and AIDS Education and Prevention, Birmingham, UK 2006
ASD Albania was funded in 2000. We have a rich background of projects in Human rights, Youth projects etc. Within Youth in Action and now Erasmus + we have realized several activities. We have served as Contact point for Youth in Action from 2006-2009 and had different accreditations. Right now, after the reorganization of our structures we have started working with the same enthusiasm as before, Volunteering is being accepted widely in Albania so it is easy to find volunteer that make true all project ideas or even give new ideas. Being part of ALF would be a great opportunity to share all our experience and also learn from others. I think that the mos important are to let people know about it. It is important to have a register of Albanian NGO that are working within the field of mutual cooperation and one of our contributes can be by promoting ALF to them. Promoting your projects as well as contributing in new ones is of mutual benefit. We share the same values as ALF does and therefore promoting ALF is also promoting our shared values. If NGO or individuals unite and try to make wide cooperation’s by sharing their best practices, we can be more able to succeed in our projects within our countries and in the same tine in our region as a whole. ASD right now has more than 200 volunteers and has demonstrated during her existence with all the successful projects that can be reliable and worthy to work with. We really hope that our application will be considered appropriate for ALF
We as an organization would appreciate very much the possibility to be part of the network; the idea of being part of a common space for NGO across Mediterranean is very attractive. It looks as a great way to get to know NGO working within the Region. Civil Society is facing almost the same struggles in all our countries so it is very important to share our work with each other. This network offers the possibility to get in touch with NGO with the same profile and can give links for future cooperation. We have been collaborating with some NGO that are already part of ALF; this was the way how we found out about it. They all recommended this network since for them has resulted very useful. ASD Albania is going to launch several peace building capacities projects for which we need NGO partners especially from Balkans. It is not easy to find reliable partners but within this network is much more easy to find them. Reading about ALF has strengthened our aim to join it since we have realised to share same values. Bringing people together, as well as respecting each other cultures or differencies is a fundamental part of our work. Human rights and fighting against any kind of discremination its what our projects aim. From experience we now that taking advices from people doing the same as you do and especially with ones who share the same environment and problems can be much more productive than working alone. The network unite NGO, Civil Society and people together and being part of it can only bring positive results.
