City of Tirana – “A house of glass and colors”
By Mimi Kodheli
The history and politics of the country during the last years compel us to make
the most possible real assessment of the relations between public institutions and
the citizens.
Very often this relationship between governmental and public segments has been
inexistent or deluding. The unfulfilled expectations (primarily deriving from lack
of communication and participation), have prevented potential partnerships
between the citizens and local and central governments.
Efforts to change this trend represent a challenge. However, it is crucial to make
efforts on cultivating and fostering trust towards public institutions; this is the
indispensable premise to make good citizens for Albania and Europe. In this
respect, the transparency of the local administration and the on-going
communication (in both directions) between local officials and citizens
contributes to a more propitious environment for trust-building between both
parties.
In June of 2001, the Administration of the City of Tirana under the leadership of
Mayor Edi Rama initiated an unprecedented participation process of
development of the capital city. By transforming the City of Tirana in a “house of
glass”, its actions would become more transparent and would be under the public
scrutiny. Preliminary assessment of the overall situation lead to gathering of data
and drawing of conclusions explaining why many of the Tirana’s persistent
problems were largely the result of a lack of integration and participation
environment.
The presentation will cover the following three issues:
1. Municipal Citizen Commissions
2. Transparency through media
3. Participation in Master Plan
Part One
Municipal Citizen Commissions
The idea was to get civically engaged and responsible citizens by encouraging
their participation in the policy-making through Municipal Citizen Commissions.
Our main objectives aimed at:

the identification of these commissions, finding the category and the
needed dimensions, composition and functions;

the process for recruiting, appointing, and training commission members
for regular meetings, round tables, etc;
To date, four of these commissions have been established, and the fifth one will
be soon:
1. The Third Age Commission
2. The Youth (juvenile) Commission
3. The Development Policies Commission
4. “Guest of the House” Commission
5. Business Partnership Commission
The two first commissions show a direct participation of the citizens of different
kind of ages and backgrounds in consultation, problem identification, policy
formulation, implementation, evaluation.
Part Two
Transparency through Media
The tradition of information in Tirana and Albania is not very impressive: printed
media as well as television have demonstrated to be politically partial. Local
radios are commercial in most of the cases, while Internet is still of limited access
in order to be used by a considerable number of citizens.
The role of daily TV news and other TV programs in fostering direct contact
between local government and citizens, and informing them about every initiative
remains a priority and at the same time a challenge. This will also enable the
establishment of a forum of discussion where suggestions, requests, advice and
complaints of citizens can be accepted.
The core objectives of Media activities were:
 The increase of Local Administration effectiveness in addressing, resolving
conflicts engendered from various interactions between community
members and local authorities as well as intra-group disagreements
between members of the same group;
 Better understanding and increased trust in the solutions of the problems
by the Municipality;
 Developing of a new concept about Media’s role from a public opinion
perspective.
The increasing number of activities and initiatives of Tirana Municipality, and the
growing demand for better communication and transparency with Tirana citizens
have drawn attention to the role of media.
A few months after the new administration took office, it started a 10-minute
edition in the main news, in a non-partisan television channel, creating thus an
open window of the daily activity of Municipality of Tirana.
Nowadays media are present at all important activities that of the Municipality
and Mayor of Tirana. They are present at all the meetings of the Urban Territory
Council, and all meetings of the City Council.
The Tirana Municipality also started printing a bulletin which includes all the
decisions of City Council as well as of the Mayor of Tirana and any other decision
that will have impact on the life of Tirana citizens. This bulletin will contribute to
increase transparency in the allocation of the funds, during the budget approval
and implementation.
Part Three
Participation in Master Plan
Since its beginning, the Administration of the City of Tirana initiated a process of
developing a Master Plan for the capital city, which was previously inexistent.
The plan dealt with the following sectors: economic development, social welfare,
infrastructure, education, public safety, housing, arts and culture, parks and
recreation, environment, and public transportation.
The visions and strategic directions for Tirana’s future emerged from months of
invigorating exchanges of ideas generated by the ten sectoral planning teams.
These teams were composed not only of the leadership and staff of the
Municipality, but also politicians, administrators and mostly ordinary citizens.
Once the City of Tirana has its Master Plan, it will be seen as a work in progress,
not a finished product.
We must emphasize that the real success of the Master Planning process comes
not merely from its production or publication, but its implementation. We urge
the citizens of Tirana to participate as much as possible in its execution.
Questions for discussion:
1. What are the tools available in your municipality to foster public
participation in local administration affairs?
2. How can citizens contribute to municipal strategic planning?