Open Society Foundation for Albania

	13 February 2007 The Civil Society demands the relaxation of conflictuality of the election campaign 3 February 2007 Local elections 2007 online by the MJAFT Movement 30 January 2007 Seminar on “Improving public transportation in the region of Tirana” 23 Janauary 2007 Memorandum of civil society to protect its own constitutional rights 18 January 2007 Call of the civil society for a civilized election campaign 22 December 2007 Winners announced for the “Public-private partnership” contest 19 December 2006 Workshop "Albania's Interim Agreement with the EU and its effects on the Albanian Business" 1 December 2006 Debate of the civil society about the new draft law concerning the State Police 21 November 2006 Presenting the findings of the survey “Albania and the EU – Perceptions and Realities” 18 November 2006 The Conference “Albania and Greece – Mutual perceptions” 6-10 November 2006 Seminar on the challenges of European Integration 3 November 2006 Debate about book policies in the countries of Western Balkans 3 November 2006 AUBG closes recruitment ceremony with fourth-grade students of high schools in Tirana 1 November 2006 Organization that builds school wins case against Albanian government 14 October 2006 Standards in pre-university education 10 October 2006 Presentation of the monitoring report ivote.com - January-July 2006 16 September 2006 Historical turns and the return of memory

3 November 2006

The challenges of the actual stage of development of the book industry in the Balkans, the book relationship with an ever more diversified reader, the dangers of piracy and the need for cross border cooperation between/among publishers in the Western Balkans brought together important publishers from Albania, Macedonia and Kosova. Also, the event was attended by representatives from cultural institutions in Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosova, and a number of intellectuals and writers who participated in the discussion: “The situation of the Albanian book and the book in the Western Balkans”. The event was held in Hotel Rogner in Tirana on 3 November 2006 and was organized by the Institute for Dialogue and Communication in cooperation with the Association of Albanian Publishers under the aegis of the Open Society Foundation for Albania and the financial support of the EAST EAST Program.

Alongside the analysis of the evolution of the publishing industry in both Albania and the region, with particular emphasis on the lifting of the VAT, the liberalization of textbooks for schools, the approval of the law on the book, etc. publishers and book specialists brought their experiences and proposals with regard to effectuating further improvements in the book industry and the establishment of regional and cross border cooperation on these issues. Some of the proposals related to the creation of a joint informational structure; the supporting of public libraries as propagated by the Mjaft Movement, the circulation of the book without concern for borders, the need to combat piracy, the strengthening of a book distribution facility, etc. The participants released a Memorandum addressed to the governmental structures responsible for book policies.