Tell the Story of Gjirokastra is a city-wide poster competition for high school students who are interested in the power of story-telling and art. Thirty students will be chosen from Azim Zeneli, Siri Shapllo, Pandeli Sotiri, and Feim Ibrahimi high schools to participate in a series of activities that will help prepare them to tell their stories through photography, painting/drawing, and creative writing. Winning posters will be announced and recognized by a panel of judges at the final symposium event in December.
The project began with a training of history teachers from the participating high schools. Teachers attended lectures about Gjirokastra’s history and cultural heritage, traditional architecture, and intangible heritage. Following the training, these teachers were encouraged to incorporate what they had learned in their courses. It is hoped that students will benefit from the additional instruction, as well as from participating in the poster competition.
Registration is open to students from all grade levels at the participating schools. No previous experience in photography, painting/drawing, or creative writing is required to participate. Contest participants will be enrolled in three separate courses in photography, painting/drawing, and creative writing. Additionally, students will be required to attend on-site visits to important historic sites and take part in brief lectures on Gjirokastra’s cultural heritage, traditional architecture, and intangible heritage. Therefore, contest participants are expected to attend a variety of extracurricular activities totaling at least forty hours between October and early December. All project costs are covered by Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB) with funding from US Peace Corps – Albania.
The deadline to register in the contest is October 17, 2014.
