Speech of Prime Minister Edi Rama at the presentation of the initiative #ColoursofAlbania:

When Lord Palmerston, former secretary of State for Foreign Relations of the United Kingdom, learned about the invention of the electric telegraph, he said: “God, this is the end of diplomacy”. When Ditmir, back than in the opposition, would see me tweeting, he would think to himself: “God, how can this man become prime minister?” Well, within our government, Ditmir is today a fierce Twitter user, even more than I am, along his colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier who will be in Tirana in a few days. So, this infinity of technological developments, not only is not the end, but rather it means that human capacities to communicate with others have increased.

Contrary to how it usually happens, when I was told that I had to attend this activity, nobody explained me what it was about. And when I asked what this Colours of Albania is, you haven’t explained me anything, I was told that Dimitri said: just write “colours”, and the Prime Minister won’t need any other explanation. He will come for sure. Actually, I didn’t come because I read “Colours”, but because Colours and Ditmir together are the exception that brought me here.

But now, to be more serious, I want to thank from the heart Telekom Albania, the CEO of Telekom Albania, but also his team and especially Ornela who is here and who is in charge specifically to give the opportunity to the company, but alto to people, to come closer through the paths of innovative communication.

While in this case, the company does not intend to bring more people to it, but to enable as many people, and especially young people, to use their communication capacity through mobile phones and become part of a program which is a diplomatic program.

This is a program of the foreign ministry to expose in the diplomatic headquarters across our country pictures of Albania as it is seen, not by the photographers of propaganda, but by free people of this country who photograph it from the most varied perspectives.

Of course the company must be given the credit that belongs to it, for making available to this program not only technological capacities, but also some awards; 10 winning awards that are a motivation to attract more people in this beauty contest, in the most beautiful sense of the word.

A beauty contest of the body of Albania in all of its parts, from the deepest parts up to its most superficial parts where life and movement take young people, – especially in this period of vacation, – but also all the others who use their phones intensively, use Twitter, Facebook and so on, because they can’t accept they are getting old.

In addition, I want to say that we are very interested to be part of any initiative that comes outside us and takes the innovation program forward. Recently, our Minister of Innovation made possible for us through Google to have here a team, and in cooperation with the minister and the ministry of culture create an extraordinary virtual gallery of Albania and its cultural heritage, seen from every angle.

It is a three-dimensional map that allows anyone who is curious about this country, to enter it and explore it as if they had in front of them a physical reality, a very important part of the beauty of this country. It is not an attempt to show another Albania. The opposite is true. It is an attempt to show the Albania we have, and unfortunately we tend too often to look only at its blameworthy sides. Whereas, it is increasingly a pleasure to see the reaction of those who visit Albania for the first time, or those who live in Albania without any filter of political interest, visually disinterested because of the cynicism that continually seeks to be fuelled by negative things.

Today I had a touching meeting with the German Ambassador who is about to leave Albania, a meeting that in diplomatic language is called a farewell meeting. And in this farewell meeting the Ambassador conveyed in a very simple and sincere manner, the extraordinary pleasure to being witness of a city, Tirana, which in his words today is more beautiful than ever, is cleaner than ever, and above all emits more positive energy than ever.

Just a few weeks ago, I was in Sweden, where I had the privilege to meet one of the greatest figures of European politics after World War II, the former Swedish Prime Minister, Göran Persson who for 10 years in a row led the government of Sweden, and changed Sweden according to their words. A person with an extraordinary knowledge of the world, not just political knowledge, but physical knowledge of the world, a world traveller, in every continent,  metropolis, city.

Our meeting took place after a previous two-day visit to Albania of the former Swedish prime minister along with a group of entrepreneurs. It was impossible for me to believe that the country he was describing was the same country where we live; that the beauties about which he was speaking were the beauties of our country; that the Tirana about which he talked for about 10 minutes, was the Tirana where we wake up every day, because his description was fantastic. It was impossible, not because I do not appreciate the extraordinary beauty of our country and, in complete conflict of interest, the extraordinary changes of Tirana. On the contrary! But to listen to someone who has no interest whatsoever to tell beautiful words, and above all with an extraordinary archive of images collected all over the world, not to mention that he was born, raised and lives in Sweden, in one of the countries with the highest life quality in the world – well, spoken by him those words sounded completely differently.

Therefore, I believe it is up to anyone of us who rightfully wants Albania to be even much better, to be even much loved, not because of its natural assets, but because of what it can give to everyone who lives here, we must not lose the ability to enjoy the Albania we have, to enjoy the country we have, to enjoy the capital city we have, even our cities, which we are trying day after day to make revive, with major efforts and despite the not-at-all-favourable financial conditions, in order to provide a new quality to people’s imagination in the first instance.

I’ve heard of a very beautiful saying that goes: “people cannot live well in a country that doesn’t inspire their imagination so that they can see how much better they can live”.

Well, I believe that Albania has this capacity, regardless of where we are right now. But on the other hand, it is up to us, it is up to me, it is up to the government, it is up to the city halls, it is up to administrators at a central level to use the potential of this country, to use every potential to create here conditions that are apparently minimal, such as a square, a park – I’m not saying a playground for this competition is open to everyone – that stimulate people’s imagination, that give the opportunity to somebody who has never seen a square or a pedestrian zone there where they live, to imagine that the contrary can happen, because it has started to happen.

Once again, thank you very much for your attention, and I’m really happy to see here so many interested young women and men. In this world we live in, and especially on these days we are going through, when all of us are being wiretapped and everybody will learn what we said here today, once they’ve finished wiretapping, everybody is invited to become part of this competition.

Thank you very much!!

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The photo contest #ColoursofAlbania, an initiative undertaken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the support of Telekom Albania, was presented today at a special event.

The contest is a platform to support the Albanian “digital diplomats” around the world, citizens, young people, and lovers of photography, who will promote Albania’s life, history and culture.

The contest takes place in social media, Instagram and Facebook, platforms where participants can post their photos using # (hashtags on Instagram) and @ (tag on Facebook). In addition, it aims to include all Albanian citizens and make them “Ambassadors of their country “.

The initiative #ColoursofAlbania will last 6 months (from May to October 2016) and will end with the announcement of the 10 best photos of the competition. In addition, a booklet collecting the best pictures submitted online will be promoted.

The event where this initiative was presented was attended by Prime Minister Edi Rama, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bushati, CEO of Telekom Albania, Dimitris Blatsios, and other guests.

Mr Dimitris Blatsios said he was happy that Telekom Albania was invited to be supporting such an initiative. “Telekom Albania is especially happy for the invitation received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to be part of this initiative with our modern technology. We are everywhere in Albania to provide the most recent technological developments to the country and to all of its citizens.”

Among other things he said that the beauty of Albania and its traditions are really surprising. “During my first six months in this country, I travelled around and saw almost everything, and I was positively surprised by the natural beauty of the country, which reminded me of my home country. I was positively surprised by the rich tradition and culture of the people and their hospitality.”