Photo Credit: Pual Cohn   The conference was an opportunity for women’s rights activists, local and central government officials, and business women to discuss concrete actions and programs that can be done to improve gender equality in health, education, business and politics in Albania.

Conference Highlights Need for Policies, Program for Women in Albania

Tirana, October 28, 2009   Women’s rights activists, local and central government officials, and business women, met today at a national conference in Tirana on “Empowering Women in Albania: A Strategy for Inclusive Development”. The conference was supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and organized by Refleksione. Participants discussed strategies for transforming recent laws and documents into concrete actions that would benefit women and girls throughout Albania and would enable them to make their contribution to a more prosperous society.

The President of the Republic of Albania, Mr. Bamir Topi, delivered the keynote remarks calling for the elimination of gender-based inequality and discrimination as necessary for Albania’s progress towards EU integration.

“Domestic violence, high unemployment, and a lack of representation of women in politics and other decision-making positions are all serious issues that need to be addressed in Albania,” said USAID Mission Director, Ms. Roberta Mahoney. “Today’s conference allows for an opportunity for leaders and decision-makers to formulate concrete actions and programs that will allow women to play a larger role in Albanian society.” While noting that Albania has taken major steps in recent years on adopting the legal framework for the protection of women’s rights and gender equality, she encouraged the government to devote more human and financial resources to support programs and institutions for women.

In their remarks, the Deputy Minister of Integration, Ms. Jonida Tabaku, and the Socialist Party representative, Ms. Valentina Leskaj, encouraged women’s rights activists and public officials to work together on addressing gender based discrimination and mobilizing communities in joint efforts to achieve shared goals for improving the life of Albanian women and girls.

Participants at the conference discussed priorities regarding the economic empowerment of women, expanding education opportunities and improving health services for them, as well as ideas on successful models for strategic interventions at the community level.