This training is designed for cultural and natural heritage officials from Kosovo and Albania institutions, aiming to build capacity for cultural landscape recognition and valorization. Specifically, participants will have the opportunity to understand legal frameworks for cultural and environmental protection in Kosovo and Albania, to build their capacities in built heritage mapping by using innovative technology, intangible and environmental mapping, as well as network with experts from across the region.

THE LECTURERS

Sali Shoshi - Executive Director at Cultural Heritage without Borders
Sali Shoshi is a Kosovar architect who has been engaged for 20 years in the conservation of cultural heritage in Kosovo. Professionally, he is interested in developing sustainable practices in cultural heritage restoration, giving it a new role in local development in Kosovo. He is involved in many local initiatives related to improving legislation and increasing capacities in cultural heritage management. Shoshi participates in international projects and events to discuss the challenges of preserving cultural heritage in post-conflict and transitional contexts. For Shoshi, cultural heritage is strongly connected to identity, but above all, it is a catalyst that drives cooperation and social development. According to him, history, architecture, and culture, linked with the creative industry, create engagement opportunities for young people, enhancing their well-being and sense of belonging.

Burim Gashi- GIS Expert
Burim Gashi completed his studies at the Faculty of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (FMNS) at the University of Prishtina, earning a Bachelor's degree and is now nearing the completion of his Master's degree in Geography. Since 2019, he has been working at the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, where he is part of the IT Department, specifically in the GIS Unit (Geographic Information System). Throughout his professional career, he has attended many high-level training sessions in the field of GIS, both nationally and internationally. He has contributed with presentations in the field of Geoinformation and has participated in various projects organized by local, national, and international organizations. His activities are focused on diverse fields, including statistics, GIS, population censuses, and statistical surveys. He has experience in the analysis and representation of population data at different geographic levels, the use of geospatial technologies, urban planning, map design, and the management of other spatial data.

Gjejlane Hoxha- Certified Architectural Engineer

Gjelane (Belegu) Hoxha is a certified architectural engineer specialised in the protection and conservation of cultural heritage. Over a 40-year career, she has been involved in creating the legal and institutional framework for the protection of cultural heritage in Kosovo and has promoted the country's cultural wealth on both national and international levels. Hoxha has held significant positions, such as Director of the Architectural Heritage Program at UIA, and played a key role in Kosovo's Ministry of Culture. She contributed to documenting cultural heritage damages during the war and has worked as a lecturer and consultant on various international projects. She completed her architecture studies at the University of Prishtina and advanced her knowledge through postgraduate studies in Zagreb and other international institutions.

Ana Almagro Vidal, Ph.D. Architect
She has worked at the Montemadrid Foundation since 2006, where she has led the technical and financial coordination of numerous restoration projects throughout Spain promoted by the Foundation’s Spanish Historical Heritage Conservation Program. She currently works in the Media Department, where she is technically responsible for the interventions that the Foundation carries out in historic buildings. She is a professor of the Masters in Architectural Rehabilitation and Guardianship of Historical-Artistic Heritage  “the Legacy of al-Andalus”, at the International Postgraduate School of the University of Granada. She was a fellow of the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome and of the Spanish School of History and Archaeology in Rome - CSIC. Over the past 20 years, she has collaborated regularly with ICCROM on international training courses on documentation, conservation and heritage management (Rome headquarters, LATAM Programme in Latin America, and ATHAR Programme for the Arab Region). She is the author of the book “The concept of space in Andalusian palatine architecture. An analysis through infographics”, based on her doctoral thesis, as well as scientific and popular articles in the field of documentation, restoration and conservation of architectural heritage. Dr. Almagro also served as the Treasurer of ICOMOS Spain from 2021 to 2024. She has led numerous studios in Cultural Landscapes in Aragon for the Fundación Santa María de Albarracín and is headed a project in the mountains of rural Maestrazgo.

Lumnije Kadriu - Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Albanology
Lumnije Kadriu is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Albanology, Department of Ethnology in Prishtina, Kosovo. She has earned Diploma degree in Ethnology and General linguistics at the University of Zagreb, Master’s Degree in Ethnology at the University of Prishtina, and Doctoral degree in European Ethnology at the University of Vienna. Her thesis was about Kosovo Albanian diaspora practicing holidays and their keeping ties with family and homeland. Since 2011 is periodically engaged as an adjunct lecturer at the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, University of Prishtina. She is an author of the monograph “Glocalization – ethno-cultural perceptions”. She participated in numerous national and international conferences organized in Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Israel, and Spain. She is currently editor in chief of the journal “Gjurmime Albanologjike, Folklor dhe Etnologji” published by the Institute of Albanology and a member of editorial board for the journal “Antropologji” published by the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Study of Arts, in Tirana, Albania. She is also a member of SIEF and InASEA. Her recent interests are in the processes of globalization and transnationalism.

Lela Khartishvili -  Associate Professor at Ilia State University in Tbilisi
Tourism consultant for Hidria Lela Khartishvili is an Associate Professor at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, where she leads courses in agritourism and rural tourism. Lela holds a PhD in Social and Economic Sciences and has over 15 years of experience in development research, working on transdisciplinary and participatory projects with academic partners and locally-based organizations. Her current projects focus on transitioning to sustainability, supporting local, community-led innovations and practices around national parks (e.g., UNDP, Georgia), strengthening integrative management practices between protected areas, local government and other actors, and facilitating the sustainable practices.

Ascanio D'Andrea - Data Manager at Herculaneum Conservation Project

Ascanio D'Andrea is a data manager with over 25 years of experience in cultural heritage management, particularly in World Heritage sites. He specializes in data management, impact assessment, and the use of digital tools such as GIS, 2D and 3D surveys, and drone documentation to support conservation efforts. As a core team member of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, he is responsible for developing tools that assist in addressing conservation needs and impact assessments. He has worked on various international projects, including in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Italy, contributing to the management of archaeological sites and capacity building. He has also consulted on Heritage Impact Assessments for UNESCO properties and participated in numerous training programs for heritage professionals around the world.

Tahir Latifi - Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology
Tahir Latifi is a professor and the head of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Prishtina. He completed his PhD studies at the University of Graz, Center for Southeast European History and Anthropology. His research focuses on family and kinship, gender, social policy, migration, demography, cultural heritage. Recently, he has worked on several projects: Cultural Identity of ethnic minorities in Kosova: An Anthropological Study; Researching and Documenting the Memory of Albanian migrants – Gastarbeiter; The curatorial conception and design of the museum exhibition (one of the curators) of the Museum of the Krusha e Madhe Massacre “Kosova memory: Documenting the stories of survivors of the Krusha e Madhe massacre”; Documentation of intangible cultural heritage of Kullas (a traditional fortified tower house) in Dukagjini Plain; Historical demography in Kosova. 

Idriz Shala - GIS Expert
He studied at the Faculty of Geography and completed his Master's degree at the University of Pristina. Since 2004, he has worked at the Kosovo Statistics Agency, in the Department of Information Technology / GIS Unit. Mr. Shala has attended many study visits to universities and European institutions, where he has been active with presentations and scientific works in the field of Geoinformation. He has also participated in many projects organized by national and international organizations, both in Kosovo and in the region. His activities are focused on statistics, GIS, censuses and statistical surveys, analysis and representation of population data at different geographic levels, the use of geospatial technologies, urban planning and other spatial data.

Rand Eppich - Conservation Architect 
He holds a Ph.D. from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in social and economic development of cultural heritage, as well as an MBA and a Master's in Urban Design and Architecture from UCLA. He has developed business, management, and conservation plans for World Heritage sites in countries such as Albania, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and China. His clients include UNESCO, ICCROM, UNDP, and the Getty Foundation. He frequently lectures at institutions like the British Museum, KU Leuven, and the University of Pennsylvania. Before founding his own studio in 2015, he worked as a program manager at Tecnalia Foundation and as a senior projects manager at the Getty Conservation Institute. Recently, he has assisted DG Antiquities of Sindh and UNESCO following the 2022 monsoons.

Rita Vecchiattini, Prof. Assoc. University of Genoa
Rita Vecchiattini (architect and PhD in Materials Engineering) is an Associate Professor in Architectural Restoration (CEAR-11/B) at the Department of Architecture and Design, University of Genoa. Her research interests are in the field of the conservation of historical buildings with a focus on the analysis of materials and their decay phenomena. She teaches Architectural Restoration in the Course of Studies in Building Engineering, and Materials, techniques, degradation and diagnostics of buildings in the School of Specialization in Architectural and Landscape Heritage of Genoa. She carries out research activities on the conservation of rural building and landscapes.

Eltjana Shkreli - Ph.D. Cand. / GO2Albania
Ms. Shkreli is an urban planner, and she has 22 years of experience in community-based development/planning and territorial analysis specifically in the Balkans Region and Europe. She is cofounder and executive director of GO2_Sustainable Urban Planning Organization founded in 2012 in Albania, which contributes to built and natural environment through models of land uses and settlement patterns. She has been part of a team in several projects related to upland heritage, like ‘Design Code in Theth National Park’, ‘Dew ponds in Shkrel Regional Park’, ‘Xhubleta - as a unique dress of women in the Albanian mountains’, ‘Kullas of Geghnia in northern Albania – ILUCIDARE Horizon 2020’, ‘Green Infrastructures in Spatial Planning Laws Balkans Green Belt’. Ms. Shkreli has taught for 11 years as an assistant lecturer in several universities and recently she is engaged at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Polytechnic University of Tirana, in landscape architecture subject. She has been council member of Europa Nostra, since 2022. From 2022 she is pursuing doctoral studies on the Marie Curie Slodovska Action_CLOE program at the University of Genoa, Italy on mountain cultural landscape on Albanian Alps.

Liridona Ura - Architect / GO2Albania
Liridona Ura is an architect based in Shkoder, Albania. She holds a Second Cycle Diploma in Architecture, graduating at Epoka University, Tirana. After working in architectural design in Tirana she returned to her hometown to learn from and contribute to regional and urban context. Liridona is currently working at GO2 Sustainable Urban Planning Organization, where she is engaged in projects and research on built environment, sustainable development and cultural heritage. Throughout her experience in having different roles as part of the team implementing projects supported by different international donors, she has enhanced her interests and capacities in creative development of community-based practices, tangible heritage documentation, collection of territorial data and database. Her challenges remain understanding settlement complexities and finding solutions through civic participation.

Ols Lafe Ph.D. - Archaeologist
Ols Lafe has studied history and archaeology at the University of Tirana, Albania. He received an MA at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio (USA), and holds a PhD in cultural heritage management from the University of Tirana, Albania. His co-authored book on the tribal cultures of northern Albania, titled “Light and Shadow: Isolation and Interaction in the Shala Valley of Northern Albania”, has won the 2014 Society for American Archaeology Book Award in the Scholarly category. His work experience has been focused on archaeology, excavation and publishing but professional interests include also training in tourism and cultural policies, historic tourism, management of monuments and their restoration, museum and archaeological parks administration and their presentation and communication of values to the public.

Zamir Tafilica - Archeologist
Mr. Tafilica started his professional engagement in 1968, with an experience of 19 years in education after studying Albanian Language and Literature at the Luigj Gurakuqi & University in Shkodra. Driven by his passion for history and heritage, he later profiled in museology and archaeology, where he has been engaged for 25 years. During this time, he was the Director of one of the key institutions for heritage in Shkodra, the Historical Museum of Shkodra. His contribution on the documentation and discourse of the tangible and intangible heritage is dedicated to the long work in the field, especially in the northern region of Albania, and comes as a co-author in monographic publications such as “Light and Shadow: Isolation and Interaction in the Shala Valley of Northen Albania (2013)” & with M. Gallaty, Wayne E. Lee, Ols Lafe, Los Angeles, author in the monography & “Tradition of Sailing-fishing in the waters of Shkodra (2020)” as well as in about 36 publications on archeology, ethnography and museology published in various scientific journals in Albania and abroad.

Anna Maria Stagno Prof. Assoc.  - Archaeologist

University of Genoa

Anna Maria Stagno is associate professor in Methodologies of the Archaeological Research at

the University of Genoa, where she teaches rural and post-medieval archaeology, as well as

landscape archaeology and history of material culture. Her research interests focus on the

history and archaeology of European rural societies and particularly on the management of

environmental resources, sharing practices, commons, and heritagisation processes. She is the

coordinator of the Laboratory of Environmental Archaeology and History, cir Dafist-Distav) at the University of Genova and the PI of the ERC Stg 2019 project on the process of marginalisation of European rural societies (18th–21st) and of the Doctoral Programme CLOE (MSCA cofud DP) focused on the topics of the construction of a sustainable development and conservation of European mountain starting from historical, environmental and juridical perspectives.

PhD in historical geography and rural archaeology, she has done researchat the University of

Durham (IAS fellow), and at the University of the Basque Country (as Marie Curie fellow 2014-

2017), focusing her research on the archaeology of commons and on the jurisdictional meaning

of action and practices and, thus, of the archaeological evidence She has been the supervisor

of various prestigious post-doctoral fellowships (MSCA, Margarita Salas) as well as PI of

national and regional projects (like the MUR-FARE, KORE). She represents Italy in the Ruralia

Association of European Rural Archaeologists and is member of the Advisory Board of the

Italian Society for Medieval Archaeology (SAMI). Her scientific production includes monographs (The spaces of rural archeology, publisher All'Insegna del Giglio), edited books, papers in scientific journals permanently at the top of international rankings (such as World Archeology), and book chapters in collective volumes of prestigious publishing houses (publishers Routledge, Archaeopress, etc.).