After Municipalities of Vushtrri/Vučitrn, Gjakova/Đakovica and Parteš/Partesh, Municipality of Peja/Peć was the fourth chosen site for the analysis and the public participatory workshop for this year. The workshop, which took place November 1-4, 2011 was organized in the framework of the Integrated Conservation Programme of CHwB which is implemented together with the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (MESP) / Institute for Spatial Planning Planning (ISP).

This workshop aimed a comprehensive discussion of the problems related to the state of cultural heritage, the possibilities of solving those problems in this domain; improve living conditions in these areas and to identify cultural heritage as potential for the local development of Peja/Peć Municipality. During the first two working days the debates among representatives of central institutions, different departments of the municipality and civil society were constructive and the produced analysis and project proposals even worthier of interest. The most remarkable results was the cooperation between the different groups during all the stages of the workshop and the culture of dialogue that the participants expressed during the discussions.

The best was yet to come with the fieldwork visit to Albania during the third and the fourth day of the workshop. Arrived first at Shkodra, the participants experienced in first person a good example of reuse of traditional houses for tourism purposes in the Tradita Geg e Toskë compound. Then the guided visits in the Rozafa Castle, in the little museum of the Castle and in the city museum allowed the participants to recognize new methods and tendencies of heritage management and marketing. The tour in the streets of Shkodra, especially in the museal street Kol Idromeno, made the participants realize how much Shkodra has changed during the last 5 years. Another special moment was the meeting with the director of the Culture department in the Municipality of Shkodra which revealed to the participants the inner mechanisms of the “rebirth” of the city. After a last (but not least) stop at the Marubi photo collection, the participants left for the Memorial of Skenderbeg in Lezha.

Kruja was the last destination in program, where the participants experienced the original elements of the old bazaar and the visit to Skanderbeg national museum. The visit to ethnological museum located in a traditional house of the 18th century closed the agenda and the participants took their way home after two tiring but passionately intense days of field visits.

Next step of the workshop will be the drafting of a report, incorporating suggestions and remarks that arose from the activities during the workshop, and bringing it to a wider public and municipal representatives in an organized public meeting.