UN Women, in partnership with the government, launched a three-year initiative to empower women in rural northern Albania by strengthening governance, promoting economic opportunities, and combating gender-based violence in Shkodër, Bulqizë, Malësi e Madhe, and Dibër.

As Albania celebrates three decades since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration, the country continues to make strides in gender equality. An inspiring intergenerational dialogue at a recent event brought together key stakeholders from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, United Nations Albania, the EU Delegation, and other partners, alongside passionate feminist activists from all generations.

In this interview, Ulsi Manja, Minister of Justice of Albania, highlights the government's commitment to advancing gender equality through the justice system. He discusses the importance of gender-responsive budgeting, ongoing efforts to address the needs of women and girls, and key interventions such as free legal aid, humane conditions in penal institutions, and measures to combat gender-based violence.

Monika Kocaqi has dedicated twenty-five years to preventing gender-based violence (GBV) in Albania and her work is far from over. She has led groundbreaking initiatives, including the early implementation of the Domestic Violence Protection Law, overcoming skepticism and driving systemic change. Monika Kocaqi supported the establishment for the first time of the Coordinated Referral Mechanisms and enhanced the legal knowledge of professionals. She has been at the forefront of initiatives like gender-responsive budgeting to secure vital services for survivors of gender-based violence. Her extensive work includes authoring over forty training manuals, strategies, and research studies on GBV and gender mainstreaming in Albania and beyond.

Supported by UN Women, local organizations like the Center for Community Development "Today for the Future" have empowered women such as Sirije Kumaraku to voice their needs and participate in decision-making processes. This initiative has led to tangible improvements, such as new recreational spaces and better infrastructure in Durrës.

A two-day workshop on gender participatory budgeting and community outreach practices brought together civil society organizations, local government representatives, activists, and gender-responsive budgeting experts from Albania and North Macedonia.

Thirty experts including government officials from ministries of finances, national gender mechanisms, local government representatives and supreme audit institutions, together with UN Women officials from across the Western Balkans met in Tirana, Albania on 3-4 May to monitor the progress in the implementation of the project “Transformative Financing for Gender Equality towards more Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Western Balkans” In 2022.

Interview with Michele Ribotta, Head of the UN Gender Group and UN Women Representative in Albania

Anjeza Bojaxhiu is the local coordinator of the domestic violence referral mechanism – a dedicated mechanism that aims to protect and support survivors of violence, composed of a team of community professionals in Tirana, Albania. With extensive experience in good local governance and social services for women and girls from disadvantaged groups, Ms. Bojaxhiu shares the most promising practices related to establishing and operating local referral systems as well as ways to address challenges that may arise.

More than ninety women and girls from four regions of Albania participated in a fair event organized by UN Women and supported by the Albanian Network for Rural Development. They discussed the challenges faced by women in the agri-food sector in the presence of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and Municipality of Elbasan officials.

The Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, Åsa Regnér, visited Albania to meet with high level government representatives, civil society organizations and international partners.

The initiative aims to engage young creators and artists from all around Albania practicing photography and illustration, who will use their artworks to convey messages and help spark a conversation around this theme.

The United Nations in Albania and the Swedish Embassy signed today a two million-euro programme that will support the protection and recovery of children, women and girls affected by November 2019 earthquake.

Albania has submitted the country report after an all-inclusive, two months consultation process with line ministries, independent institutions, civil society organizations, UN agencies, international development partners, media, academia, private sector.

Luljeta Kaculi, 49, has been the Administrator of Labinot-Fushe, an Administrative Unit in Elbasan region, in central Albania, for four years. Together with 11 local administrators of Elbasan, she recently participated in a UN Women-led training on the legal obligations of administrators to manage cases of violence and refer them to the relevant institutions.

Global Goals Week in Albania brought together students, youth, local governments, civil society and businesses to raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to build partnerships to drive concrete action for achieving the new 2030 sustainable development agenda.