During January 23 - 24 in Tiriana, the capital of Albania, a General Assembly was hosted to establish a Youth Section of the Albanian Deaf Association. The local Deaf youth invited the WFDYS to attend the General Assembly and to present on the work of the WFDYS and to provide support during the elections. Florian Gravogl, board member, was the WFDYS delegate attending this exciting assembly.
The Albanian Deaf Youth Association (Section) is called the KHRSHND, Komiteti i te Rinjve Shqiptare qe Nuk Degjojne, in Albanian.
Florian recounts his visit on January 22 to the office of the Albanian Deaf Association where he met with a representative, Florjan Rojba and other youths, who were busy preparing for the General Assembly. "They were very excited about the establishment and we even had six Italian youth arriving to give their support for this establishment," Florian Gravogl says.
Over two hundred people showed up at the general assembly, marking the beginning of a great weekend, but it was also something the Albanian Deaf Community did not expect. It showed the energy and motivation of deaf youth. Florjan Rjoba explained that he, along with six others, worked on organising this event. "It'll not happen if I worked alone." During the assembly there were several presentations, one by the Albanian Deaf Association (ANAD), one by Florian Gravogl on WFDYS, and there was also Raffele Cagnazzo who presented on the work of European Union of the Deaf Youth (EUDY). There was a presentation by Deaf youth from Kosovo about the activities and organising of Deaf youth in Kosovo, and there were workshops on Albanian Sign Language, and interpreters.
By the end of the day, there was a huge celebration for the establishment of the Youth Section. Many Deaf youth met new people, got acquainted with each other, enjoyed cultural exchanges between Italy, Kosovo, Austria and Albania, with great entertainment. "It was a great atomsphere!" Florian Gravogl said.
On the following day, there were more workshops and presenters, including news appearance on the TV about sign language. Most of the workshops focused on youth camp activities and the opportunities to attend camps such as: Albanian national camps, and the WFDYS and EUDY camps. For Albanian deaf youth, the whole weekend was full of information and awareness, and when the elections for the first Youth Section board came up on the agenda, it was the most exciting moment.
Representatives from EUDY and the WFDYS delegate, Florian, explained the election process, rules, and responsibilities that came with being elected to be on a board, called the Youth Executive Team, who will oversee the section. Everyone was impressed as there were many candidates for each positions, including 11 candidates for President, and 11 candidates for Vice-President. 23 Deaf Youth ran for the five board member positions.
Result at vote:
President: Jetmir Dekovi Vice-President: Dorian Sulko 5 board members: Irena Orucaj, Klaudia Shehu, Denis Plloca, Fabjol Hysi and Ilirjana Jupa.
After the elections, it called for more celebratons, with dinner and dancing lasting all long into the night.
The WFDYS would like to congratulate the Albanian Deaf Youth Section and we wish them every success with the newly elected members of the Youth Executive Team.
Photos:
More Photos on youtube:
Albanian Deaf Youth Association (Section) Board members:
