United Nations Development Programme
Albania
Date :2007-06-22
TIRANA – “There’s no excuse not to write about environmental issues,” said Inter Press Service (IPS) journalist Baher Kamal. “Much environmental coverage is superficial, and information on the environment is political too. There’s a lot of information out there, but much of it doesn’t get released because it could implicate an offending country.”
Journalists from Albania and from the IPS exchanged perspectives on reporting on tourism and development issues. The IPS specializes in covering development issues in light of globalization and its impacts. They produce independent news and analysis about events and global processes affecting economic, social and political development. IPS editorial priorities include strengthening the gender perspective in its articles, and giving a voice to minorities and under-represented groups. Many of these themes are in line with the work of the United Nations.
Therefore, IPS has recently partnered with UNDP Albania, to help address the information gap about Albania, complementing broader efforts in the area of image building for the country. Creating a cadre of journalists who are familiar with Albanian affairs will help to portray the country in a more realistic light, and promote Albania internationally.
“Often the media is forced to sell an agenda, so then journalists in Albania can’t sell a story if it’s not part of the agenda,” said Albanian journalist Rajmonda Nelku. “The media doesn’t always follow the issues of the people.”
At a seminar held on 18 June, IPS journalists from around the world met with UNDP and Albanian journalists to discuss collaborating on articles about Albania, and exchange views on sustainable development and the eco-tourism potential the country offers to its visitors.
UNDP Albania is working closely with the Government of Albania, in particular with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports and the National Tourism Organization to implement the country’s eco and cultural tourism strategy. UNDP is assisting the Government to create the right circumstances for tourism-driven development, as well as providing assistance to local tourism development.
“Media attention, domestically and internationally, can help to influence, encourage and support a better understanding of the potential of the tourism sector, and how it can be developed in a way that it feeds into wider development goals,” said UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Philip Peirce.
“And here I cannot stress enough the irreplaceable role that the media can play in the image building efforts Albania has undertaken recently. With its mixture of a beautiful coastline, its mountains, natural parks, archaeology sites and a vibrant city life, it’s somewhat inexplicable how the country remains so underreported.”
According to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), in 2003 Albania received approximately 450,000 international visitors, and numbers are on the rise, with a million expected this year (in 2006 they surpassed 900,000).
The IPS journalists conducted interviews, and together with Albanian journalists, travelled to significant historical and cultural sites such as Berat in order to see the country and start producing articles.
“We want to maintain Albania’s pristine beauty and natural wealth,” said UNDP Eco-Tourism Programme Manager Lauren Bohatka. “Albania is relatively undiscovered but is up and coming. The Government has a vision, to market the country as a safe tourist destination that’s open to European markets. Everything is here, and the approach is to use culture as a tool for development.”
The IPS, in partnership with Albanian journalists, will generate articles on Albania, and has also created a mini Web site: Case Study: Albania – cultural and environmental tourism.
“These editorial mini sites are created for people that follow specific information,” said IPS Director General Mario Lubetkin.
Articles produced so far include: Albania: Environment and Tourism Can Hold Hands; Q&A: Albania on the Road from the World Interview with Dr. Ylli Pango, Albanian Minister of Tourism; Albania: Landing Might Be An Idea; Albania: Long and Winding Road Straightening Out.
“We don’t write spot news, only features. We don’t think in the moment, but in the process,” said Mr. Lubetkin. “Part of the contribution we want to give here is our approach and ideas to cover, and we want to work with our colleagues in Albania on these issues. Why Albania? We think we work in other areas with similar issues. Costa Rica for example, we have done similar coverage on tourism, environment and culture. We believe that more and more people are finding information on Albania, and at the same time, more and more people are not satisfied with the mainstream news. We try to link the issues with people’s lives.”
IPS covers 150 countries, has 500 journalists, and produces approximately 375 stories per month, in 22 languages. Due to its in depth content, IPS articles are often quoted or published by major media outlets around the world.
“We will focus on things like the environmental and ecological impact of tourism,” said IPS journalist Ramesh Jaura. “The challenge for us and for our Albanian colleagues is to share local issues with a global audience, or a global story with relevance to Albania.”
The UNDP Albania eco- tourism programme seeks to build a successful tourism sector based on Albania\'s unique cultural and natural assets. The project has worked closely with the Government to create the National Cultural and Eco-tourism Strategy, redeveloped the National Tourism Web site and sent five senior tourism officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sport to participate in a study tour on eco-tourism in Costa Rica. The programme office, located within the Ministry, works directly with Ministry staff to build capacity to implement the Strategy. The programme assists local tourism development in the cities of Berat and Gjirokastra in collaboration with local stakeholders and government. The tourism programme is supported by the Image of Albania project, which aims to increase the quality and quantity of information on Albania abroad, and is spearheading a first-ever yearlong tourist exit survey at the Tirana International Airport.
For more information on the cooperation between UNDP Albania and the Inter Press Service, please contact Nora Kushti, Communications Manager nora.kushti@undp.org
TIRANA – “There’s no excuse not to write about environmental issues,” said Inter Press Service (IPS) journalist Baher Kamal. “Much environmental coverage is superficial, and information on the environment is political too. There’s a lot of information out there, but much of it doesn’t get released because it could implicate an offending country.”Journalists from Albania and from the IPS exchanged perspectives on reporting on tourism and development issues. The IPS specializes in covering development issues in light of globalization and its impacts. They produce independent news and analysis about events and global processes affecting economic, social and political development. IPS editorial priorities include strengthening the gender perspective in its articles, and giving a voice to minorities and under-represented groups. Many of these themes are in line with the work of the United Nations.
Therefore, IPS has recently partnered with UNDP Albania, to help address the information gap about Albania, complementing broader efforts in the area of image building for the country. Creating a cadre of journalists who are familiar with Albanian affairs will help to portray the country in a more realistic light, and promote Albania internationally.
“Often the media is forced to sell an agenda, so then journalists in Albania can’t sell a story if it’s not part of the agenda,” said Albanian journalist Rajmonda Nelku. “The media doesn’t always follow the issues of the people.”
At a seminar held on 18 June, IPS journalists from around the world met with UNDP and Albanian journalists to discuss collaborating on articles about Albania, and exchange views on sustainable development and the eco-tourism potential the country offers to its visitors.
UNDP Albania is working closely with the Government of Albania, in particular with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sports and the National Tourism Organization to implement the country’s eco and cultural tourism strategy. UNDP is assisting the Government to create the right circumstances for tourism-driven development, as well as providing assistance to local tourism development.
“Media attention, domestically and internationally, can help to influence, encourage and support a better understanding of the potential of the tourism sector, and how it can be developed in a way that it feeds into wider development goals,” said UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Philip Peirce.
“And here I cannot stress enough the irreplaceable role that the media can play in the image building efforts Albania has undertaken recently. With its mixture of a beautiful coastline, its mountains, natural parks, archaeology sites and a vibrant city life, it’s somewhat inexplicable how the country remains so underreported.”
According to the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), in 2003 Albania received approximately 450,000 international visitors, and numbers are on the rise, with a million expected this year (in 2006 they surpassed 900,000).
The IPS journalists conducted interviews, and together with Albanian journalists, travelled to significant historical and cultural sites such as Berat in order to see the country and start producing articles.
“We want to maintain Albania’s pristine beauty and natural wealth,” said UNDP Eco-Tourism Programme Manager Lauren Bohatka. “Albania is relatively undiscovered but is up and coming. The Government has a vision, to market the country as a safe tourist destination that’s open to European markets. Everything is here, and the approach is to use culture as a tool for development.”
The IPS, in partnership with Albanian journalists, will generate articles on Albania, and has also created a mini Web site: Case Study: Albania – cultural and environmental tourism.
“These editorial mini sites are created for people that follow specific information,” said IPS Director General Mario Lubetkin.
Articles produced so far include: Albania: Environment and Tourism Can Hold Hands; Q&A: Albania on the Road from the World Interview with Dr. Ylli Pango, Albanian Minister of Tourism; Albania: Landing Might Be An Idea; Albania: Long and Winding Road Straightening Out.
“We don’t write spot news, only features. We don’t think in the moment, but in the process,” said Mr. Lubetkin. “Part of the contribution we want to give here is our approach and ideas to cover, and we want to work with our colleagues in Albania on these issues. Why Albania? We think we work in other areas with similar issues. Costa Rica for example, we have done similar coverage on tourism, environment and culture. We believe that more and more people are finding information on Albania, and at the same time, more and more people are not satisfied with the mainstream news. We try to link the issues with people’s lives.”
IPS covers 150 countries, has 500 journalists, and produces approximately 375 stories per month, in 22 languages. Due to its in depth content, IPS articles are often quoted or published by major media outlets around the world.
“We will focus on things like the environmental and ecological impact of tourism,” said IPS journalist Ramesh Jaura. “The challenge for us and for our Albanian colleagues is to share local issues with a global audience, or a global story with relevance to Albania.”
The UNDP Albania eco- tourism programme seeks to build a successful tourism sector based on Albania\'s unique cultural and natural assets. The project has worked closely with the Government to create the National Cultural and Eco-tourism Strategy, redeveloped the National Tourism Web site and sent five senior tourism officials from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sport to participate in a study tour on eco-tourism in Costa Rica. The programme office, located within the Ministry, works directly with Ministry staff to build capacity to implement the Strategy. The programme assists local tourism development in the cities of Berat and Gjirokastra in collaboration with local stakeholders and government. The tourism programme is supported by the Image of Albania project, which aims to increase the quality and quantity of information on Albania abroad, and is spearheading a first-ever yearlong tourist exit survey at the Tirana International Airport.
For more information on the cooperation between UNDP Albania and the Inter Press Service, please contact Nora Kushti, Communications Manager nora.kushti@undp.org