Ilir Parangoni spoke about the steps taken by this foundation to enable the preparation of four national heritage files for registration in the UNESCO lists: Jubletta, Transhumance, i.e. the seasonal droving of livestock, Tropoja dance and the lute in the Songs of Frontier Warriors.

Also present was Australian researcher Susane Ogge-Milou, who has supported the work of the expert group since the beginning. The entire activity was directed with scientific and professional responsibility by the researcher Rigels Halili, a member of the working group.

Academicians Vasil S. Tole and Shaban Sinani, members of the working group from the Academy of Sciences, referred to the topic “The lute today in Albania: lute songs, rhapsodists and the craftsmanship of the instrument’s production”.

Academician Tole emphasized the importance of registering the lute and lute songs in the list of endangered properties of UNESCO.

“The work started 12 years ago by an initiative of the government of Kosovo, but was not successfully completed because Kosovo is still not a member of UNESCO”, said Tole.

In the following acad. Shaban Sinani presented the joint report, which opened with a significant fact for a successful future: in February of this year (2023), the Albanian lute player Anton Çivlaku opened the instrumental concert “Siparantum Choir” at the “Berlin Philharmonie”. The report focused on two main questions: Why should the lute be protected and how should the lute be protected.

At the end of the debates, the researchers proposed the adoption of a special protection status of the lute, the promotion of new rhapsodists, the assumption of responsibilities by the local government for financial support to them in the regions where the lute survives; completion of a map of the area where the traditional lute is kept and some other measures./p.s./