The Qemal Stafa Foundation organizes the “Political Academy 2022”, which is based on the program “Supporting Democracy in the Western Balkans – Progress and Connecting Bridges of Cooperation” in collaboration with the Kalevi Sorsa Foundation, with a tailored curriculum that includes two intensive and interactive modules, designed as a combination of theoretical presentations and practical cases for participants.
The formation of future political leaders is an important aspect of improving the policy-making process. Through capacity building at the national level, the Political Academy 2022 aims to foster critical thinking, train, identify and promote individuals who have ambitions and want to be an active part of political life in the country. Through the Political Academy, participants had the opportunity to better understand the complex political, social and economic environment and to become familiar with the important process of integration into the European Union. The objective of the Political Academy is to provide participants with knowledge and technical expertise to enhance their skills in shaping accurate political arguments.
The 2022 Political Academy was opened with a speech by the Executive Director of the Foundation, Mr. Ledjon Shahini and was welcomed by Mr. Etjen Xhafaj, Member of Parliament and Digital Secretary of the Socialist Party. Mr. Xhafaj spoke at length about political activism and other topics that prevailed during the discussion with the participants. The second session was held by Mr. Leart Kola, Executive Director of the Institute of Social and Human Studies and civil society activist. In this session, a general spectrum between the main ideologies was presented and the advantages and disadvantages of each ideology were discussed with the participants.
On the second day of Module I, the connection that exists between political and economic systems was addressed by the Executive Director of the Foundation, Mr. Ledjon Shahini. Following this, Mr. Arbjan Mazniku, Deputy Mayor of Tirana, spoke and discussed with the participants on the prevailing political-economic systems in the Western Balkans and Europe, where the differences between them were addressed with interest. The last session was held by Ms. Milva Ekonomi, Minister of State for Standards and Services. In this session, Ms. Ekonomi answered the question: To what extent do the political and economic systems in Albania converge?
The first module of the 2022 Political Academy took place on September 17-18, 2022 in Durrës, Albania, where participants had the opportunity to carry out social activities at the end of the first day.
