On September 11, 2024, the Annual Conference “Safer Prisons – Safer Communities,” organized by the Institute for Activism and Social Change as part of its preventive approaches program countering violent extremism in prisons, was held in Tirana. The conference brought together representatives from state and non-state institutions, including the Albanian Parliament (Parliamentary Committee on Security Affairs), the General Directorate of Prisons, the Coordination Center for Countering Violent Extremism, the Tirana Local Police Directorate, the State Agency for the Rights and Protection of Children, the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, the Cërrik Municipality, theologians, experts, researchers, justice sector experts, and civil society organizations.

The aim of the conference was to discuss the developments to date and the role of multi-stakeholder and inclusive approaches in ensuring secure prisons, resilient communities against violent extremism and terrorism, as well as intervention models inspired by best practices both locally and internationally for rehabilitative approaches.

The conference was addressed by His Excellency Reinout Vos, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Albania, as this project is supported financially by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In his speech, Mr. Vos emphasized that addressing the families who chose to travel and stay in the Middle East remains an urgent issue. The treatment of repatriated family members requires the involvement of the entire society, as no government can tackle this challenge of rehabilitation and reintegration alone. He also highlighted the importance of prevention work, especially concerning women. The Kingdom of the Netherlands fully supports the Albanian state’s initiatives related to the Rehabilitation-Reintegration-Resocialization processes of individuals returning from conflict zones. In conclusion, Ambassador Vos expressed appreciation for the collaboration with the CVE Center, the General Directorate of Prisons, the Institute for Activism and Social Change in Albania, and the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF).

In the panel organized by the Executive Director of the Institute for Activism and Social Change, Ms. Erinda Bllaca, the attendees included Mr. Denis Deliu, a Member of Parliament from the Parliamentary Committee on Security, Albanian Parliament; Mr. Klevis Qose, General Director of the Prisons Directorate at the Ministry of Justice; and Ms. Lejdi Dervishi, National Coordinator Against Violent Extremism. The discussions focused on the need to create prison systems that not only ensure appropriate punishment for lawbreakers but also work towards preventing their return to crime and extremism.

The National Coordinator against Violent Extremism, Ms. Dervishi, thanked the Ambassador and the Kingdom of the Netherlands for their support since 2019 and for their collaboration in preventing radicalization and countering violent extremism. She further discussed the strategy, achievements, and measures undertaken by the Albanian state in cooperation with strategic partners (the United States and the European Union) through GCERF, using an inclusive approach aimed at the rehabilitation, reintegration, and resocialization of this vulnerable group within the community. Ms. Dervishi specifically highlighted the inter-institutional cooperation with the General Directorate of Prisons and the tireless work of law enforcement officers to ensure community security, under the coordination of the Ministry of the Interior and the State Police, in collaboration with local government institutions.

In his speech, the General Director of Prisons, Mr. Klevis Qose, emphasized the ongoing commitment of the General Directorate of Prisons (GDP) to improving living conditions within detention facilities and treating every inmate with dignity. Mr. Qose highlighted the significant progress made in enhancing staff capacities and considered it a success that, for the first time in our country, the concept of “Open Prison” has been introduced, responding to the legal framework of the field.

Practical experiences shedding light on the difficulties and challenges in this regard were shared by the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination, Mr. Robert Gajda, as well as Ms. Alma Tandili, Director of the State Agency for the Rights and Protection of Children.

During the meeting, a one-minute silence was observed in memory of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA.