Elona Dhembo

The expansion of research on migration over recent decades has neglected sending and transit countries. Whether in terms of their internal development, their diaspora policy, their shift from primarily sending countries to (potential) transit or destination countries, or the issue of return migration and reintegration into home societies – all these topics deserve further exploration. This paper seeks to redress this by examining Albania, a sending country with almost a third of its population living externally, and which is recently shifting to a transit and potential destination country. Media discourse on migration was analysed, recalling its power to reflect as well as shape public opinion. Employing a quantitative approach, media discourse on migrants from 2015 to 2018 was examined. Some 55 web-based media were identified, along with twenty TV channels, 61 TV programs, and 317 articles. A qualitative analysis was then used to detect the tone of the discourse and gain a deeper u...

Understanding the relationship between migration, social protection and doing family in transnational settings is important, both at academic and policy level. Migration disturbs safety nets and it created new realities such as transnational families. Migrants and their left behind families try to close the gap that arises between mobile social needs and static services and provisions. In doing so they (re)invent doing family in a transnational context and the protection they offer to one another primarily in the form of remittance, knowledge transfer, time and emotional care tend to provide solid grounds for bonding them across borders. Looking at the case of Albanian migrants and their transnational families, we reconfirm old patterns and sketch new trends in informal transnational protection practices which construct main fundamental ties holding transnational families together and are key in building and strengthen intergenerational solidarity among Albanian migrants and their l...

In Albania, politics is an area where deep gender differences exist and persist. Regardless of therecent legal provisions (2008), requiring 30% of women ’s participation in politics and decision-making, the general elections of June 2009 produced figures far below the target, with 23 women parliamentarians out of 140. This research aims to address the following research questions:What are the influential factors helping or inhibiting the process of legal gender quotasimplementation? What does it imply to be elected as a 'quota woman' in Albania? Available datahave been used to map the situation in Albania and other countries. Primary data have beencollected via qualitative research tools, namely semi-structured interviews, to explore reasonsand outcomes of gender quotas in Albania. The research population was composed by purposefully selected subjects, representatives of both women and men succeeding to enter elections list or not, succeeding to become or not part of the parliament. The study concludesthat g ender quotas in Albania have made a positive impact in women’s participation in politics, which is perceived as such by all population categories, though opinions on the nature of this participation vary among these categories. It seems that there exists a different, more sceptical attitude by politicians toward ‘quota women’, sometimes also by women themselves (elected by quota or not). Also, expectations toward this group and women politicians in general, are highand often unrealistic, by men, women themselves and the public opinion. Participants maintainthe opinion that a political career is more solid if developed slowly. Many intervieweesemphasize the impact of media and that of the civil society in the implementation of the legal framework. The identified reasons of the limited success of application of electoral quotas include lack of political will, gaps in legislation and electoral code, limited attempts of women’s organization as a group, and role overload.

One aspect of human rights is the right to quality of life. Copenhagen criteria require social policies that address equality, health and anti – discrimination at work. The aim of this study is to explore the effects of caregiving in quality of life of carers and in the employment status and family monthly income. For this purpose, a quantitative study was conducted with n = 377 participants. The Quality of Life Scale of Flanagan (1982) was used, as well as close – ended questions regarding family income, hours of caregiving and employment status. Results of this study correlate with other studies in this field. A majority of participants report a low – medium level of quality of life (79%), only 37.4 % are employed and half of them have low family monthly income. Pension/caregiver credits can be implemented in the Albanian context, based on European best practices.

Building on the work of 27 authors and a survey of 400 experts, this volume provide a map of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The analysis comprises 16 CEE countries in four distinct country groups: a) the Visegrad group, which consists of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary, b) Slovenia and Croatia, c) Bulgaria and Romania, and finally, d) the non-EU countries Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, and Moldova. Austria serves as a reference country for comparing CEE civil society with a traditional Western European civil society. For each country, a chapter provides an overview over recent historical developments, the shapes and forms of civil society, its most important fields and activity, and an assessment of its institutional environment. Chapters also contain an analyisis of trends and future developments in civil society. In addition, the volume contains a synthesis chapter which provides a general investitgatio...

We provide an overview of the social work response to COVID-19 in Albania. After introducing the country situation, we discuss social workers’ engagement in governmental and non-governmental agencies and provide suggestions for advancing the social work profession. We call for greater engagement of social workers in political spaces.

ABSTRACT The social work profession in Albania is relatively young and social services in the country continue to develop. But over the past three decades, Albania has experienced significant growth and transformation in its social work education programmes. Nevertheless, there is very little published work on the Albanian social work education system and its implementation on the ground. Currently, the main sources of social work graduates are three Schools of Social Work in Tirana, Shkodra, and Elbasan. Programmes at the bachelor's and master's level all incorporate policy, research, and practice education. The social work curriculum, originally transplanted from the United States, has gone through reforms following the Bologna process and continues to be revised to meet local needs. Drawing from a multi-country study of the social service workforce in southeast Europe, this paper presents baseline data on social work education in Albania. 62 participants were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, case stories, and focus group discussions with consensus-building exercises. The findings highlight both the opportunities and challenges of this relatively young profession in Albania. Besides increasing understandings of social work education in Albania, this research adds to emerging regional and global themes in the development of social work education and practice.

Civil society (CS) is the main medium in which active citizenship can flourish and have an impact on good governance and democracy. The communist past has played a major role in CS underdevelopment across Eastern European countries but research primarily targeting the elites has explained little of how citizenry has developed and mapped little of the cross-country variation. This paper attempts to increase understanding, looking at the case of Albania, where low levels of active citizenships are documented1, as the main indicator of this underdevelopment. Data from in-depth interviews with key informants explain that it results from a combination of historical factors with current determinants such as the low perceived level of impact, the transparency of CS actors and the political influence believed to often dictate their agendas. These and additional explorations of gender and age differences lead to suggested new strategies to boost active citizenship in the country.

The expansion of research on migration over recent decades has neglected sending and transit countries. Whether in terms of their internal development, their diaspora policy, their shift from primarily sending countries to (potential) transit or destination countries, or the issue of return migration and reintegration into home societies – all these topics deserve further exploration. This paper seeks to redress this by examining Albania, a sending country with almost a third of its population living externally, and which is recently shifting to a transit and potential destination country. Media discourse on migration was analysed, recalling its power to reflect as well as shape public opinion. Employing a quantitative approach, media discourse on migrants from 2015 to 2018 was examined. Some 55 web-based media were identified, along with twenty TV channels, 61 TV programs, and 317 articles. A qualitative analysis was then used to detect the tone of the discourse and gain a deeper understanding of the messages conveyed. Results showed that migration from the perspective of a sending country has dominated Albanian media discourse over the monitoring period. Major identified issues include: migration and demographic challenges, migration and multiculturalism in societies receiving Albanian migrants, and asylum seeking as a recent trend in Albanian emigration often standing in the way of potential Albanian EU membership. The regional migration “crisis” and the potential of Albania becoming a transit or destination country for refugees has only gained limited attention. The binary of “our migrant” versus “the other migrant” became a key distinction.

Return migration and pension benefits are crucial for ageing migrants whose migration project takes a significant turn due to circumstances in the receiving country. A significant number of migrants have recently returned to Albania from Greece due to the financial crisis and are struggling to start a new life. A number of those remaining in Greece wish to retire upon return to Albania, or prefer to remain in Greece if they manage to retire there. Problems arise because of the lack of portability of social security benefits from Greece to Albania. This article looks at the policy and legal frameworks of migration and the national social security system, aiming to identify the existing gaps in the policy and legislative configurations of the two countries. It appears that significant policy inconsistencies and gaps have serious implications for ageing returned migrants and also for those remaining in the host country (Greece), indicating an urgent need to address these difficulties a...

The year 2018 did not bring the expected developments that would provide a more enabling environment for the Albanian civil society sector. Several of the old problems persisted due to the incomplete legislation, the problematic legal conduct and the inconsistent behaviour of important actors (e.g. public institutions or central and local government bodies). Albanian CSOs still had to cope with issues of centralized procedures, additional financial burdens from disputed fiscal regulations, high dependency on foreign donors due to the lack of diversification of financial resources and limited access to public funds. Nevertheless, in 2018, Albanian CSOs grew stronger, especially in their advocacy and watchdog functions, and got involved in new practices, such as subgranting. In 2018, the civil society was the best-performing sector in the country in terms of democratic progress. While 2018 did not entail any significant changes concerning the challenges the sector still faces, it was characterised by an unusual wave of grassroots movements and activism. As the Civil Society Survey (2018)
shows, for the next 5 years, CSO practitioners expect an increase in competition in the sector, which will fuel a diversification of the CSOs’ portfolios, more investments in the sector’s human resources and a greater attention to PR, technology and social media. Migration and other demographic changes are expected to shape the major
areas of interventions. Finally, all involved actors, particularly the National Agency for Civil Society, are expected to play a more supportive role in meeting the objectives of the Road Map for an enabling environment for CSOs in the country.

Përmbledhje ekzekutive
• Republika e Shqipërisë është e përkushtuar për krijimin e një mjedisi mundësues për
mbrojtjen e fëmijës. Ky qëndrim është ravijëzuar dukshëm dhe në mënyrë të qëndrueshme
në kuadrin ligjor përkatës si dhe në zhvillimet dhe arritjet e viteve të fundit.
• Ligji i Ri për Për të Drejtat dhe Mbrojtjen e Fëmijës ka mundësuar ngritjen e strukturave
koordinuese dhe këshilluese në nivel kombëtar, por ka mundësuar edhe përcaktimin e
autoriteteve dhe aktorëve qëndror dhe vendorë me detyra dhe përgjegjësi politikëbërëse,
vendimmarrëse, standardizuese, mbikëqyrëse, monitoruese dhe menaxhuese në MF.
• Pavarësisht kësaj, strukturat në nivel vendor nuk janë ende të ngritura, plotësuara dhe
funksionale në mënyrë të njëtrajtshme në të gjithë vendin. Ato vuajnë nga mungesa
në staf, mungesa e stafit të kualifikuar, nga mbivendosja e rolit të MF me role dhe
detyra të tjera, nga mbingarkesa e stafit me numra rastesh dhe territoresh të mëdhenj
dhe të vështirë për t’u mbuluar në kushtet e mungesave të theksuara të burimeve dhe
infrastrukturës në dispozicion.
• MF dhe PMF perceptohen si më pak të rëndësishëm në raport me shërbime të tjera
shoqërore në nivel vendor si për sa i takon vëmendjes dhe burimeve që njësitë vendore
dedikojnë për MF ashtu edhe në termat e qartësisë së ndarjes se roleve, detyra dhe
përgjegjësive.
• Stafi i MF është i ri (pjesa më e madhe e tyre të punësuar në 1 apo 2 vitet e fundit) dhe me
eksperiencë dhe ekspertizë të kufizuar ne fushën e MF. Kjo kombinohet me ndryshime
të shpeshta të stafit menaxherial në Njësitë e Vetëqeverisjes Vendore (NJV) dhe në
Grupin Teknik Ndersektorial (GTN) duke mos lejuar konsolidimin dhe fuqizimin e PMF
dhe MF në përgjithësi.
• Edhe pse kuadri ligjor në raport me kualifikimin e burimeve njerëzore të përfshira në
MF ka ardhur duke u saktësuar dhe konsoliduar, shërbimi bazë i MF në RSH dominohet
nga para-profesionistë3
, pa një formim bazë në punë sociale. Studimet e avancuara në
punë sociale apo fusha të përafërta të ofruara kanë synuar të mbyllin këtë hendek. Po
kështu, trajnimet dhe kualifikimet/aftësimet në punë kanë qenë një strategji e zbatuar
persistente për rritjen dhe zhvillimin e kapaciteteve në MF.
• Puna e deritanishme (e ofruar kryesisht nga organizatat joqeveritare) për ngritjen e
kapaciteteve të burimeve njerëzore të përfshira në MF ka arritur të konsolidojë njohuri
dhe shprehi të mira të stafit lidhur me menaxhimin e rastit, identifikimin, vlerësimin dhe
referimin e tij. Mbeten ende të rëndësishme tematika që lidhen me kuadrin ligjor dhe
procedurial, ato që targetojnë kategori të vecanta fëmijësh si dhe ato të lidhura më
sfidat e profesionit si supervizimi dhe “burnout-i”.
• Aktivitetet për kualifikime në vazhdim priten të vijnë më të mirë-koordinuara dhe
planifikuara. Format që mundësojnë pjesëmarrje direkte dhe interaktive (si shkëmbimet
e eksperiencave) vlerësohen më të përshtatshme për kontekstin aktual ashtu sic edhe
pritet një fokusim më i madh në anën praktike dhe në kontekstualizimin e përmbajtjes
me shembuj lokalë.

Understanding the relationship between migration, social protection and doing family in transnational settings is important, both at academic and policy level. Migration disturbs safety nets and it created new realities such as transnational families. Migrants and their left behind families try to close the gap that arises between mobile social needs and static services and provisions. In doing so they (re)invent doing family in a transnational context and the protection they offer to one another primarily in the form of remittance, knowledge transfer, time and emotional care tend to provide solid grounds for bonding them across borders. Looking at the case of Albanian migrants and their transnational families, we reconfirm old patterns and sketch new trends in informal transnational protection practices which construct main fundamental ties holding transnational families together and are key in building and strengthen intergenerational solidarity among Albanian migrants and their left behind family and kin.