Ambassador Donika Hoxha conducted an interview for the UNESCO Regional Center in Bulgaria in the framework of the Albanian Intangible Cultural Heritage Days, held online on February 8-21, 2021. In this interview, Ambassador Hoxha identified the main elements of intangible cultural heritage of Albania, emphasizing: xhubleta, Këngët e Kreshnikëve and Kcimi i bjeshkës me tupan i Tropojës, files on which the Ministry of Culture of Al is working. For Ambassador Hoxha, these three elements should be part of the national list under the protection of UNESCO as they are world heritage values. She further underlined that in the basket of Albanian intangible heritage is the popular iso-polyphony, which was declared in 2005 a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
 
According to Ambassador Hoxha, the preservation of intangible cultural heritage is a valuable resource for the economy, contributes to national identity and scientific and cultural value makes Albania better known and improves its image in the world.
 
Ambassador Hoxha stressed the need to benefit from all regional platforms for the promotion of culture and history, citing the Southeast European Network of Experts on Intangible Cultural Heritage, established in 2007 by UNESCO, of which Albania and Bulgaria are part.
 
On her part, Ambassador Hoxha called for raising awareness of the value and function of intangible heritage in the region and undertaking numerous activities that focus on this heritage. "Commitment, sustainability, protection and innovation must be at the core of these initiatives, which must include civil society, policymakers, heritage and cultural heritage professionals, local tourism organizations and, above all, the younger generation." We need to create mechanisms to better involve communities in the process of protection, improvement and expansion of limited national inventory, and strengthening the transmission of knowledge and skills related to living heritage in our region ", concluded the interview Ambassador Hoxha.
 
Interview link: https://www.unesco-centerbg.org/en/2021/02/09/english-interview-with-h-e-ms-donika-hoxha-ambassador-extraordinary-and-plenipotentiary-of-the-republic-of-albania-to-the-republic-of-bulgaria/