The President of the Republic of Malta welcomed the guests of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace and his partners participating in the conference, thanking the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace for organizing such a global celebration, in support of the process of spreading and strengthening tolerance efforts. In his speech, the Maltese President mentioned that Malta is proud of the presence of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, emphasizing the fact that his country continued to provide support for the Council and its directions, and noted the importance of celebrating the International Day for Tolerance because of the promotion of the importance of tolerance. On the other hand, Al-Jarwan thanked the Maltese president, government, parliament and people of the Republic of Malta for organizing this global ceremony and pronounced: Tolerance and peace are an urgent necessity and a way of life, required by monotheistic religions and from all cultures.

On behalf of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, Dr. George Villa, President of the Republic of Malta, Al-Jarwan presented the shield of the International Day for Tolerance. The Head of the Maltese Parliament stressed the fact that the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace has become an international umbrella that unites all international, parliamentary and educational efforts to uphold and promote the values of tolerance and peace around the globe. A number of officials, parliamentarians and academics delivered various speeches marking the International Day for Tolerance and Peace, in which they provided an open call for various initiatives to promote a culture of tolerance and peace.

Albania was represented by Dr. Arben Ramkaj, Executive Director of the Interreligious Institute and President of the Center for Interreligious Cooperation, as well as Dr. Albert Rakipi, President of the Institute for International Studies. The Global Council for Tolerance and Peace will study and support all relevant initiatives to establish and promote a culture of tolerance and peace around the world.

Dr Ramkaj said among other things that ” Since I belong to a generation that lived very little under the communist regime, it has been difficult to understand the suffering, sacrifice, and hardship that clergymen of religious faith encountered during that period. However, I expressed my idea that history, if forgotten, is likely to be repeated. Thus, there is a need to remind the generations to come with all the possibilities, spaces, intellectual and civil capacities, the crimes and horrors of that dark period of history.

One of the forms of the greatest genocide that took place in Albania during the communist regime, was the beating of the clergy and the eradication of cult objects, something that even today in Albanian society has not been radically discussed, to see the causes and consequences it has left on beliefs religious that period.
Unfortunately, forgetting or feeling indifferent does not solve the problem of the current challenges facing the religious communities in the country, especially with the challenges of property restitution, clergy status or even other contemporary challenges that are under discussion within the communities and not for public discussion.
Yesterday were honored all those clerics who during the communist regime were denigrated, persecuted and insulted only because their only guilt is belief in God. One such example was Father Josif.”

Dr Ramkaj also expressed his gratitude to the Albanian Authority of the Files and the Municipality of Elbasan that awarded this deserved title to this renown cleric.

The Albanian Embassy was also a co-organizer of the opening ceremony. The event was held at Atelier Lantana for Arts and Culture and named “Emirates through Albanian eyes”. The event was curated by artist Farah al Bastaki.

The young participating artists from Albania were Elsaida Musiq, Elsamina Musiq, Jozefina Vokrri and Xhulian Millaj and a total of 12 works of arts were shown for a remarkable number of attendees since the opening ceremony.

This artistic residence was prepared in Albania by the Inter religious Institute under the special care of Executive Director Dr Arben Ramkaj and project coordinator Alba Cela who also had the distinct pleasure of hosting Mrs Bastaki in her previous visit to Tirana.

Testimonial :

“Our stay was for two weeks between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, we had a very nice time and it was a very nice and very interesting experience. Ms. Farah Al Bastaki has been very hospitable to us and has told us many things about her country. We had some meetings with artists, journalists and we had the opportunity to visit some museums in Abu Dhabi but mainly in Dubai. At the end of the experience we had an exhibition that went very well and we also had the Albanian ambassador and other guests present.”

The panel discussion was very engaging and addressed the effects of Taliban regime in other hot spots and local communities where extremism is a problem.

The panel also featured the Director of the national coordination center for CVE in Albania, Mrs. Dervishi.   

At this UNGA Side Event 76, senior officials from the US Department of State, the Swedish Ministry of Justice and Defense’s Research Agency, the UK Office for Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth & Development and the United Nations Office on Terrorism (UNOCT) discussed recent trends in recruitment, propaganda and conspiracies, and the key challenges facing governments in working to counter terrorism this urgent international threat. The event also announced the creation of a new Counter-Terrorism Law Enforcement Forum to address REMVE and highlight the RJVE Criminal Justice Practitioner IIJ Guide — a key resource for governmental and non-governmental actors in addressing this phenomenon.

IRI Executive Director, Dr. Arben Ramkaj, noted the importance of every action and initiative to be guided by a genuine intention of protecting and enriching peace. Dr Ramkaj highlighted the role and potential of clerics in the process of peace-building.

IRI wishes all of you: HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE!

The conference included the speech of the Chairman of the Advisory Board of IRI, Mr. Ilirian Gjoni, the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination Mr. Robert Gajda, the greeting of Professor Gjergji Sinani and the presentation of the project consultant from Open Europe Consulting Mrs. Andrea Mewaldt.

Local projects were presented by Miranda Mansaku, ‘Udhetimi i lire’ association, for Durres; Wilson Shehu, ‘Youth of Ura’ Association, for Berat; Zemaida Mozali, professor of European studies for Shkodra; Maria Dojce, ICT Hub Korca; Rudina Collaku, Director of WCDCA for the project in Elbasan and for Tirana, Ledia Canga from the IRI Youth Forum.

IRI and Director Ramkaj are committed to extend the network and collaboration of our Institute in global networks and organizations which share the values of peace, interfaith dialogue and harmony.

Speaking in this iftar, Pastor and professor Ylli Doci spoke on the terms of tolerance, harmony and co-existence and the way they apply to Albanian society.

All the participants wished for a successful conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslim believers and reiterated their support for the work of IRI in the future.