Since January, the government has set an official holiday on November 22 in honor of the decision taken at the Congress of Bitola (1908) to write the Albanian language in Latin letters.
But what do the figures say in relation to illiteracy and what is being done to preserve the language?
The first celebration of this marked day finds the country with a significant level of illiteracy.
Today, after 116 years since the Congress of Manastir, the data of the last census speak of about 48 thousand illiterate people, where about half of them are over 70 years old.
Writing and reading are skills that are taught in the primary cycle of education (6-10 years old), while officially the full 9-year cycle (6-15 years old) is mandatory in Albania precisely to fight this disability in the population.
In 2022, the former Minister of Education, Evis Kushi, along with the congratulations for the "International Day of Education" conveyed the government's vision to make the middle cycle (15-18 years old) mandatory as well "the best investment for the future and development of Albania". But to date this vision has failed to materialize.
But in addition to the census, the PISA test also showed a low level of preparation in terms of education.
The data collected from the test conducted in 2022 showed that Albanian 15-year-olds rank last in the world in terms of the ability to think creatively.
Through this test, the capacity of students in thinking and producing original ideas in 64 countries of the world was evaluated.
"The lowest performing system (Albania) has an average student score of 13 points on the creative thinking scale, about 28 points less than the average student score in Singapore (the highest performing system)," clarifies the report.
Alphabet Day with a new dictionary of the Albanian language
On the occasion of Alphabet Day, the National Assembly of the Albanian Language was held in Tirana, where the main topic was "Challenges of the Albanian Language in the 21st Century".
With the participation of academic linguists, pedagogues and teachers of the Albanian language from Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, this two-day Assembly culminated with the presentation of the draft of the Dictionary of the Albanian Language, which is submitted for consultation after almost 4 years of work by a group of linguists. and lexicographers directed by the Academy of Sciences.
The dictionary contains about 100 words, more than double the last edition of 1980.
"The lexicographic subject includes: 103.000 words as title words. This is made up of the academic staff of the Albanological Institute of Pristina, the University of Pristina, Tirana and other public universities in Albania and North Macedonia, as well as the University of Palermo and Cosenza". said the head of the Academy of Sciences Skender Gjinushi.
During the first day of the Assembly, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the Albanian language needs to be protected from those he considered "barbarians of social networks".
"We are under the aggression of barbarism and all kinds of ignorant people who find space thanks to the new world of social networks, but we have an obligation to be on the defensive and not allow the language to degrade to the point of no return"- said Rama about the dictionary.
The Minister of Education and Sports, Ogerta Manastirliu stated that this dictionary is an inventory of expressive culture and at the same time evidence of the journey of the Albanian language in time and space.
"With over 120 words, this dictionary represents a living archive of our linguistic heritage and a powerful tool for researchers, students and any user of the Albanian language",-said Manastirliu.
The Congress of Manastir was the most important event for the Albanians of the 1912th century, preceding the declaration of independence in XNUMX.
The Congress was attended by 50 delegates from 26 different cities, clubs and associations from all over the world. Mid'hat Frashëri was elected president of the congress, while Luigj Gurakuqi and Gjergji Qiriazi were vice presidents, while his sister Parashqevi Qiriazi was the only woman in this congress.
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The Forgotten Letters Museum in Manastir
Erisa Kryeziu has completed higher studies in Journalism and Communication and Master of Science in Public Relations at the University of Tirana. She has been a journalist and project manager at Citizens.al for five years, where she reports on social issues and human rights, especially on issues of rights at work, in education, gender equality, marginalized groups, people with disabilities such as and for environmental issues. At the same time, she works as a project coordinator with a focus on youth and media education. User of new reporting techniques such as "Mobile Journalism" and citizen engagement tools in reporting (ECR-Engage Citizens Journalism).
