Gjetë Gjoni, a resident of Kodër-Spaç, presents the vision statements formed by his group
After the first workshop held in Mirdita, the second ‘Dialogues for Spaç’ workshop was hosted in Shkodra from October 30 through November 1. The change of location was meant to emphasize, symbolically, that Spaç (and, on a larger scale, the fate of every place of Communist persecution) is a matter of national importance. It also served as an opportunity to visit one of the first examples in Albania of a Communist-era place of suffering that was turned into a museum: Shkodra’s “Place of Witness and Memory.”
While the first workshop was focused on better understanding Spaç and its history and getting to know its main problematic issues, the goal of the second workshop was to set in motion all of the knowledge and information coming from the various sources, as well as the participants’ own experiences and expectations, in order to:
- Identify and emphasize the values of Spaç
- Converge toward a common vision for the future of Spaç
- Understand the operational context of museums in Albania and abroad
- Define clear and achievable objectives on the road to turning the former prison into a museum.
Similar to the previous workshop, the methodology focused on dialogue among the participants, which fell into a rhythm of short presentations, small group sessions, and visits to concrete examples.
On the last day of the workshop, the group explored some of Shkodra’s many cultural and natural attractions, guided by local people.
Next step in the ‘Dialogues for Spaç’ project will be the third and final workshop, during which a detailed action plan will be prepared based on the objectives defined in the second workshop.
If you would like more detailed information about the content and results of the workshop, take a look at the final report from the second workshop, available here.
This project is implemented by CHwB and supported by Sweden and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.
For more information about the project you can follow the blog created especially for it at http://spacdialog.org/