The Presidency Board of the Interreligious Council of Albania was held today January 25, 2022, the next and first meeting for this year.
Thus, the meeting was attended by the leaders of the five religious communities in the country, co-leaders and the IRCA, H. Bujar Spahiu, chairman of the Muslim Community of Albania, Hirësi Asti, Assistant to the Archbishop of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania His Beatitude Anastas Janullatos, Mons. Angelo Massafra, President of the Episcopal Conference of Albania, H. Dede Edmond Brahimaj, the head of the Bektashi World Headquarters, Pastor Ylli Doçi, president of the Evangelical Brotherhood of Albania, the General Secretary of the IRCA Dr. Genti Kruja, Head of Finance at IRCA Av. Sheldiana Agaraj Jano, as well as some of the members of the Executive Board, Mr. Agron Hoxha, Mons. Arjan Dodaj and Mr. Ergest Biti.
Was also invited to this meeting. Mons George Frendo, the former head of IRCA for 2020, to whom on the occasion of his retirement and departure from Albania, the Board of the Presidency awarded the Gratitude Award with this motivation:
"For the high contribution in strengthening the spirit of interfaith dialogue among Albanians during their service in Albania and for the important role in promoting universal values, coexistence, harmony and interfaith cooperation as Chairman of the Interfaith Council of Albania during 2020."
The heads of the religious communities, the general secretary and the financier of IRCA have highly appreciated all the contribution of Mons. Frendos in his leading duties, which he has held during his stay in Albania, as well as for his contribution and cooperation during the management of IRCA in 2020.
Afterwards, the meeting continued with the speech of H. Dede Edmond Brahimaj, the acting head of the Interfaith Council of Albania, who stressed that although a year of pandemics full of challenges, the Interfaith Council of Albania has done a great job with activities various social and humanitarian, therefore he thanked everyone for the joint commitments for 2021 and especially the work done by the boards and departments of IRCA. After that, based on the rotation approved by the Board of the Presidency in 2018, H. Dede Edmond Brahimaj handed over the task of the head of the Interfaith Council to Pastor Ylli Doçi, who will chair the presidency of IRCA during 2022.
Following the meeting continued according to the agenda, the agenda which was followed by the Secretary General of the Interfaith Council, Mr. Kruja, who has submitted the one-year report of IRCA. Among other things, he mentioned that, the year 2021, although a year with limitations and obstacles due to the pandemic, it is worth noting that many commitments have been made, such as participation in several different national and international conferences and symposia, such as the International Conference held in Lindau, Germany, participation in the European Assembly of Interfaith Councils in Rome, as well as several awards: High Medal of Honor "Nation" awarded to the ICF by the President of the Republic, Award of Gratitude awarded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Affairs European and International,
During 2021, several meetings of the Executive Board, the Department of Women and the Department of Youth were held, where the cooperation with the CVE Center and other international organizations such as Religions for Peace, GCERF, CARITAS, UNHCR, etc. was evaluated.
Following the meeting, the financier of IRCA, Mrs. Agaraj has reflected the full detailed financial report of the Interfaith Council for the last 1 year, and the budget for 2022 has been approved.
Members of the Presidential Council during this meeting also discussed some important issues related to the commitments of the ICF on an ongoing basis, bringing attention to the social wounds that weigh on Albanian society and especially on our youth.
