Zymyle Seferi, a 23 years old young Egyptian never gave up her dream of becoming a midwife. She lost her father when she was one month old. She was brought up by her mother. Together with her older sister, they lived in poverty with 10 other members of her immediate family. When she grew up, she learned that...

The Delegation of the European Union to Albania signed today a financial agreement of EUR 3.5 million which will go to support the consolidation of the Territorial and Administrative Reform in Albania. The EU contribution to the STAR 2 project is part of an enhanced cooperation between the EU and Albania in the...

Students of the Polytechnic University of Tirana became part of a campaign called “365 Hours for Environment”. The Campaign is designed as an open competition and invites female and male students to propose   bold and innovative interior designs for the Tirana Aarhus Center. The Center will be built in line with...

A spectacular gathering of girls and boys, women and men from all walks of life, witnessed the launch of a campaign which aims to put an end to violence against women and girls. Called ”I choose to live without violence”, the campaign will run nationally and include over 100 orange events starting from parades to...

The Blind Students Institute in Tirana can now benefit from a renovated resource centre which was inaugurated today in the presence of female and male students, cabinet ministers, civil society, media etc. This intervention features a modern laboratory for Braille books production well equipped with relevant tools...

Albania presented today the finding of the Third National Communication to UNFCCC- a process which took three years and involved stakeholders from several national institutions, experts of  climate related issues, academia, civil society organizations etc. To ensure country-wide ownership, during the design of the...

Albania’s Ministry of Education and Sports, UNDP and the Government of Italy signed a new project in support for the Higher Education Reform. The ceremony was attended by Albania’s Minister of Education and Sports Ms. Lindita Nikolla, Italy’s Ambassador to Albania Mr. Alberto Cutillo, UNDP Country Director Ms....

A new agreement worth USD 1.361 million was signed today between Government of Italy and UNDP to support consolidation of the Territorial and Administrative Reform in Albania. This intervention will work to strengthen institutional and administrative capacities of municipal administration to implement the reform as well...

Brussels, 12 October, 2016 – With 37 million people in informal or vulnerable jobs – the equivalent of a third of the working population -- social safety nets in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Central Asia are increasingly coming under threat. A new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) covering...

Two years after massive flooding caused widespread devastation and loss of life in the Western Balkans, countries in the sub-region have taken steps to reduce the risk of disasters but more will need to be done to protect people from future destruction, according to the Human Development Report for the...

Connecting Today. Creating tomorrow was  the theme of the Social Good Summit held today in Albania.The event brought together around 170 students from the Information Technology Vocational School in Tirana to talk about the role of technology and social media as powerful forces for change and for the...

  In less than one hour, the water “stole” all that belonged to 75-year-old Qani Shehu. All that remained were the walls of his house standing 3 meters deep in water. Qani still remembers that day as one of the worst in his life. He refused to leave his place, instead finding refuge on his roof where he felt safer....

Wrapping up her three-day visit to Albania, Cihan Sultanoğlu, UNDP’s Regional Director for Europe and the CIS, called on the country and its partners to multiply the number of innovative partnerships aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Albania has adopted “bold targets to boost good...

The 2016 National Human Development Report was presented in Tirana. Traditionally, this report addresses relevant issues of public interest which are scrutinized from a human development lens. The theme of this year's  report is "Functionality". Albania has noted significant progress with regard to the economic...

Following Tirana Smart City Conference, UNDP and Municipality of Tirana are boosting their partnership by embarking on a series of joint initiatives to benefit Tirana citizens. One of the new interventions presented today, is a campaign to rally support through innovative financing mechanism of crowd funding for a...

Albania embarked on the second phase of the Support to Territorial and Administrative Reform project (STAR2). The project document was signed between Minister of State on Local Issues Mr. Bledi Çuçi and UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Brian Williams. STAR2 is the next generation of joint donor assistance to the...

Qazim Sejdini, the mayor of Elbasan, Albania, stood in-front of his computer.  Ten kilometers away, in the village of Bradashesh, Fatmir Balla stood waiting at a one-stop shop service center. Balla, the owner of small hardware store, was applying for a permit to use a small parcel of land in front of his shop. Mayor...

Members of Egyptian Community in Albania marked their national day for the very first time. A national Conference and an Artisan Fair was organized on this occasion which brought together members of the Egyptian Community in Albania, government representatives, international organizations, media etc. This Day came...

The Albanian National Agency for Protected Areas and the Agency of Parks and Recreation at the Municipality of Tirana signed an agreement which outlines steps to co-manage Dajti National Park. The agreement details priority management actions needed to be taken, as well as the respective tasks of the two...

Shkodra is the beneficiary of a new programme “Economic and Social Empowerment for Roma and Egyptians- a booster for social inclusion” funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP in partnership with the Municipality of Shkoder and the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth. The Programme was presented in...

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) remains the most transparent aid organisation in the world, according to a leading global ranking released today. The 2016 Aid Transparency Index today recognized UNDP as the leading aid organisation among 46 international agencies, representing 98 per cent of...

Anila, a married woman with three children, had lived in the neighboring Greece for around ten years.  After the heavy financial crisis, her family no longer had a stable job. When they returned home, Anila discovered their hard-earned savings from Greece had been lost to her husband’s gambling habits.By the time...

A new Development Centre for children with special needs was inaugurated in Lushnja. The Centre  offers child-friendly refurbished premises accessible for children with disabilities. Children  can also benefit from  education materails designed for both didactic and leisure purposes.The center  offers an enabling...

The Speaker of Parliament of Albania hosted  a dialogue session with Roma Youth and Members of Parliament to discuss challenges they face when it comes to education, employment, housing and political participation. Discussions focused on how Parliament’s role can be strengthened to oversee legislation that affects...

Study shows that efforts should be intensified to educate boys and girls since early ages for equal attitudes towards men and women TIRANA – The findings of the study:  “Public perceptions and attitudes toward gender equality in Albania”, were presented today in Tirana during a forum which brought together...

The National Action Plan for Integration of Roma and Egyptians was presented today in Tirana to an audience of central and local government authorities, Roma and Egyptian activists, Civil Society Organizations, development partners and other stakeholders working towards advancing the social inclusion of Roma and...

Ali is a shepherd from Suhe Village in Gjirokaster, in southern Albania. Each day he rises at dawn to care for his grass-fed sheep. He makes a living by selling the milk he gets from the sheep to a local processor. In February 2015, Drinos river water overflow washed away the protective embankment of Suhe Village...

On International Women’s Day, students  of Tirana University, academia, civil society,  came together to launch the winning prototype of a youth competition dedicated to gender based violence. In November, UNDP Albania brought together 50 young people to design a product to raise awareness among youth and public...

The renovated classrooms of vocational education workshops such as carpentry, tailoring and shoemaking were inaugurated today at the Deaf Students Institute. Fifty six deaf students from the 6th to the 9th grade, out of whom twenty five girls, learn a profession in these workshops. "Acquiring vocational skills...

Maria and her children are the new comers in the sole state-run National Shelter for Domestic Violence Victims in Tirana which houses around 40 survivals. Maria escaped her abusive home and violent husband after 10 years of marriage. Her children 6 and 8 are still traumatized by the endless scenes of terror and...