Artists from Pag performed traditional music and dances in Skanderbeg Square, dressed in folk costumes, before leading a procession towards Mother Teresa Square.

The events, held as part of Albania’s International Cultural Weeks, aim to promote cultural exchange between Albania and Croatia through music, folklore, crafts and gastronomy.

A delegation of around 25 artists is presenting Pag’s centuries-old traditions, including members of the Družina Folklore Association, the Galijota klapa group and Pag lace artisans.

The programme began with a procession from the Mak Albania Hotel to Skanderbeg Square, where artists staged a 15-minute flash mob. The evening continued at the University of Arts with a presentation of Pag and a concert titled “From Croatia with Love”, featuring traditional music, dances, costumes, customs and local products.

The event showcased Pag not only as a tourism destination but also as a city preserving and passing down its cultural and artisanal traditions across generations.

Admission to Tuesday evening’s concert at the University of Arts was free.

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Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Monday Albania would once again become “a grand stage where artists from across the globe come together to share emotions, colours and stories that transcend borders.”

“The energy that unites us returns,” Rama said.

Organised by the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation, the initiative aims to introduce Albanian audiences to diverse world cultures through a series of cultural events held throughout the country.

Each week is dedicated to a different country or cultural tradition, featuring activities ranging from film screenings and live performances to exhibitions, architecture, traditional costumes, gastronomy and cultural heritage presentations.

The programme is designed to strengthen cultural exchange and international partnerships, while expanding Albania’s cultural calendar with events aimed at audiences of all ages.

Running from May through December, the International Cultural Weeks transform Albania’s cultural scene into a multicultural and multidisciplinary platform celebrating global artistic diversity.

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The rock band combined powerful rhythms with a call for peace and unity.

“The legends of Oriental metal, Orphaned Land, delivered music that transcended borders. An evening full of energy and rhythm,” stated the International Cultural Weeks page.

Known for using heavy metal to promote peace and cultural dialogue, the band has been active since 1991 and has a strong fan base across the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. Their music carries powerful messages of unity, earning them global recognition and even sparking a grassroots campaign for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.

Last night, the band did not simply perform music; they created an atmosphere that inspired the hearts and conscience of the audience.

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The Minister of Culture, Economy and Innovation, Blendi Gonxhja, announced Tuesday that the International Culture Weeks will reopen with a festive event at Tirana’s main Skanderbeg Square on Wednesday evening.

Third edition of the International Culture Weeks is scheduled to take place between May and November and Albania will host and celebrate diversity of culture and heritage of various countries throughout the world through a rich program of events, performances and new energies.

Conceived as an international cultural parade, extended throughout the year, JKN is the continuation, inclusion, and unification under one brand of a several-year tradition of organizing weeks, dedicated to cultural cooperation.

Through this project, we will get to know each other better, strengthen relations with our international partners, and increase the offer of cultural activities in Albania for all tastes and ages.

JKN transforms the scene of cultural activities in the country into an international multicultural and multidisciplinary arena.

Thanks to the dynamic and comprehensive program, JKN will create an extraordinary atmosphere and will spread strong messages of peace and acceptance to each other.

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“Albania Welcomes the World” is the most recent initiative launched by the government of Albania to promote cultural cooperation among countries, an event that is set to be materialized through a cycle of activities under the International Culture Weeks that kicked off at Tirana’s main Skanderbeg Square on Monday.

The International Culture Weeks has been designed as an international cultural parade that would bring together the tunes, the smells and the tastes from 18 countries around the world. With a series of events scheduled to take place throughout this year not only in Tirana, but also in other major cities across Albania, the International Culture Weeks initiative is a follow-up, inclusion and unification of a several-year tradition into a single brand dedicated to cultural cooperation among nations.

Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Minister of Culture Elva Margariti appeared at a joint press conference to provide more information on the latest initiative on international cultural cooperation.

In his remarks, the government head Edi Rama said that Albania expects the international culture weeks to become an annual event with view to showcasing traditions, various and diverse cultures from all over the world, and the most diverse forms and expressions of each civilization and definitely to creating new spaces of interaction with other cultures for entertainment of citizens, visitors and tourists that happen to be visiting our country during the international culture weeks.

It is a program- he went on saying – we expect to attract all age groups, a program designed to provide a reason to all the categories to actively attend the international culture weeks. This will exponentially increase the intensity of cultural activities of a socializing nature, not only in Tirana, but also in other cities. This new program, which is in an inception phase, will be enriched in the upcoming years. It is a new experience from which we will mutually learn and understand more. We start off with the week of France and then continue according to a calendar. In the meantime, I would like to emphasize that some of the countries engaged have been involved for a long time with organizing their cultural weeks, such as Italy, Germany or France, but this joint commitment makes them more accessible to the public by including, not only narrowly artistic activities, but also popular, street activities, or even directly the culture and culinary tradition of other countries.

On her part, the Minister of Culture Elva Margariti added that hat after a long period of preparations, several months of intensive and continued efforts in the framework of this initiative, an idea forwarded by ​​the Prime Minister at the end of last year to open Albania’s doors to all countries we cooperate with for years now, but most importantly, to create even more circles of youth cooperation, but not only young people, businesses and institutions in Albania with our partner countries.

Prime Minister Rama and Culture Minister Margariti also answered the reporters’ questions, including a question about the National Theatre issue, construction of which has yet to kick off.

The Premier noted that nothing has changed regarding the National Theatre project, but the whole problem lies in this difficult moment of transition from paperwork to implementation due to soaring prices that have compelled us to review the manual we have for this purpose, because under the existing manual it is no use asking companies to participate in competitions, or develop investments in the public interest, as they are more costly than under the old manual. The National Theatre – he went on saying – will be built as it has been designed and as we have promised, but, as I have previously stated, not all plans and projects can be implemented within the timeframe when an event that can neither be predicted nor avoided hampers and delays everything.

Unfortunately, it is 3 years now that we make plans and projects to implement, while the country is coping with powerful shocks beyond our reach, such as the earthquake, pandemic or war that has started in Ukraine, which in fact has sent the prices skyrocketing, especially the prices of construction materials.

Prime Minister Edi Rama also answered to the media interest regarding the upcoming tourist season. “I am fully confident that the upcoming tourist season will be the best in all aspects, as work has continued uninterruptedly to clean up the territory and not only that, but a new scheme is also in place and its implementation as soon as the summer tourist season begins and the coastal areas will be all cleaned ahead of the season.”

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