The photo exhibition “World Heritage sites in Albania”, which is travelling the country since 26 October 2015, will be on display in different venues until mid-December. The exhibition is organised with the support of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice (Italy), within the scope of the project ‘Support for arts and cultural education in Albania’ financed by the United Nations Delivering Results together Fund (DRT-F).

The project is the result of combined efforts of the Albania Sustainable Development Organization (A.S.D.O) and the Albanian Ministries of Culture and of Education and Sports. The primary focus is to involve locally based artists/photographers to promote the treasures of cultural heritage in Albania. An essential goal of the project is to increase public awareness of the country’s cultural heritage, by building a programme of school exhibitions and education tours in partnership with the regional directorates of Culture and Education. Lastly, it provides governmental institutions with a set of easily usable educational resources to support and facilitate their efforts in promoting cultural heritage

Two professional photographers were contracted to take pictures of the two Albanian properties inscribed on the World Heritage List: Butrint (1992) and Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra (2005-2008). Inhabited since prehistoric times, Butrint has been the site of a Greek colony, a Roman city and a bishopric; the present archaeological site is a repository of remains representing each period in the city’s development. The historic centres of Berat and Gjirokastra are inscribed as rare examples of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period; located in central Albania, Berat bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries.

The exhibition aims at giving the Albanian youth an overview of the rich and unique cultural heritage that is to be found in their country. This is the first time that the World Heritage sites of Albania come together for an audience of primary and secondary schools, in an effort to sensitise the younger generations to their World Heritage sites and all their treasures.

A hundred professional photos are on display at the exhibition “World Heritage sites in Albania” until the end of the year. According to the plan, the exhibition is travelling to the following cities across the country: Durres (26-30 October); Sarande (2-5 November); Gjirokastra-Butrint (9-13 November); Vlora (15-17 November); Berat (19-21 November); Korce (23-25 November); Elbasan (25-27 November); Shkodër (1-4 December); and, Lezhe (4-9 December).

Link: http://asdo.al/albanias-unesco-protected-sites-in-100-photos/