Today, February 10, 2024, the first meeting of this year’s Board of the Presidency of the Interreligious Council of Albania occurred. The meeting held at the Archbishopric of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania was attended by the leaders of the religious communities and, at the same time, members of the Presidency Board: H. Bujar Spahiu - Chairman of the Muslim Community of Albania, His Beatitude Anastasios Yannoulatos - Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and all of Albania, Mons. Angelo Massafra - President of the Episcopal Conference; H. Dede Edmond Brahimaj - World Grandfather of the Bektashians; Pastor Ergest Biti - President of the Evangelical Alliance of Albania, Secretary General of the IRCA, Prof. Genti Kruja, Mrs. Sheldiana Jano, Head of Finance at IRCA, members of the Executive Board: Bishop Asti Bakallbashi and Mons. Arjan Dodaj, as well as Mrs. Sonila Dedja from the Women’s Department at IRCA.
The main agenda of the meeting of the Council of the Presidency of the IRCA was the appointment of the head of the Interreligious Council of Albania for 2024 by His Beatitude, Anastasios Yannoulatos, Archbishop of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, based on the statute and rotation, approved at the meeting of the Presidency Boars of IRCA in 2018, which is followed H. Bujar Spahiu, Chairman of the Muslim Community of Albania.
Prof. Dr. Anastasios Yannoulatos is one of the four founders of the Interreligious Council of Albania in 2007 and comes as Chairman of the Interreligious Council of Albania for the second time after the entry into force of Article 12 of the statute, point b) in 2018, when he took the Presidency of the Interreligious Council of Albania for the year 2019. This year, he was elected for the second time by the 10th World Assembly of Religions for Peace as Honorary President for his high contribution to the interreligious dialogue held in Lindau, Germany, with the participation of all Interreligious Councils worldwide.
Më tej mbledhja ka vijuar me paraqitjen e raporteve të aktiviteteve dhe atyre financiare të vitit 2023. Në këtë mbledhje Bordi i Presidencës ka miratuar gjithashtu dhe ngritjen e grupit të punës për hartimin e planit strategjik 5 vjeçar për periudhën 2024-2029 me anëtarë të Bordit Ekzekutiv, Departamentit të Gruas, Departamentit të Rinisë dhe Komisionit të Arsimit në KNFSH, si dhe ka miratuar emërimin e znj. Sonila Dedja, Përgjegjëse e Departamentit të Gruas për vitin 2024 në bazë rotacioni, mbështetur në vendimin nr. 5, pika 3.c, dt. 16.01.2020.
The members of the Presidency also discussed various issues, such as the statements of some pseudo-clerics and the interference of foreign government actors in the internal affairs of religious communities.
During the meeting, there was a mutual agreement on the importance of reinforcing interreligious collaboration for the betterment of Albanian society. All parties involved also stressed the significance of working together as critical stakeholders to address various social challenges.
