Albania

• © UNESCO/C. Martin
• Butrint

Albania has been a member of UNESCO since October 16, 1958.

The country has been the subject of a UNESCO study to assess the state of its cultural heritage. The Museum-City of Gjirokastra, an exceptional example of an Ottoman town, is one of two Albanian sites on the World Heritage List. In July 2005 the archaeological site of Butrint was removed from World Heritage in Danger list following a successful joint conservation effort by UNESCO and Albanian authorities.

In 2006, the country held a workshop on the fight against illicit traffic of cultural heritage.

In December 2004, the Albanian capital hosted a Regional Summit on Inter-religious and Inter-ethnic Dialogue, which led to the adoption of a Declaration on Inter-ethnic and Inter-religious Dialogue in South-East Europe.

Albania is also a member of ERNO, a regional TV news exchange network serving public broadcasters in South-East Europe. The network, aimed at strengthening democracy and peace in the region through public television, is supported by UNESCO.

Albania was chosen to be one of eight Member States for the implementation of the One UN Project, which was launched in Tirana in May 2007.