Social exclusion and violence:
Education for social cohesion

ALBANIAN MINE ACTION EXECUTIVE - AMAE

ALBANIA

The Albanian Mine Action Executive (AMAE) Project is a mine & weapon awareness program based on three pillars:
- Formal education: incorporation of mine/weapon awareness in the official school curriculum;
- Informal Education: national/local media involvement and thematic outdoor activities for youth and children;
- Community based initiatives: participatory initiatives for community actions towards the change of risky behaviour and building a culture of peace with a popular participation.
The program designs strategies in order to teach and identify ways to avoid high risk behaviour and to shield populations from conflicts involving cross-cultural disputes, ethnic or religious background, supporting children's role as dynamic peace actors.

The AMAE programs include training of teachers in three northern districts to implement mine awareness programs in schools, as well as training of committees in villages to increase mine awareness.
The strategies lead to mine/weapons awareness incorporation into the school curriculum after undertaking a training of trainers and testing in pilot schools. Technical support is provided to AMAE and marking signs delivered for the remarking of minefields.
There are different programs such as CEYPA (Civic Education Youth Program in Albania), and other pilots projects that are implemented in the cities : Tirana, Tropoje, Vlora. In this last case, the primary target group is the pupils of the school, focusing on those who have been victims, directly or indirectly of weapon use, have social problems, children not attending school, orphans (with the help of local media - radio, tv - where children send messages to others , school newspapers, role plays).
The school curriculum incorporates Civic Education concentrating on social responsibility and discusses weapon issues with practical exercises including role playing, traditional theatre, open discussions, stories and poetry, posters and games. Furthermore, AMAE provides a Training Course on "Training for Trainers on Mine/UXO & Weapon Awareness", whose main aim is to enable participants -within the framework of their local organisation or association- to competently prepare, run and evaluate training activities on mine/UXO (unexploded ordnance) and weapon awareness. The participants are community workers (members of NGOs, of youth organisations, institutions or projects) and local government representatives, who are or will be responsible for training activities on mine & weapon awareness.
The AMAE training activities focus on participation and community action. It is aimed at people from mine & weapon affected communities, who are in position to act as "multipliers" in order to build a participatory community culture as the grassroots for a progressive civic society in Albania.

Albania places the destruction of its Antipersonnel Mines high on its political agenda. The AMAE, which is a governmental body working on mine issues, was formed and effectively functions as the national Mine Action Centre. The programs are created according to the need of implementing a national strategy in mine awareness in Albania, with further sensitisation of public opinion and policy-markers on land mine/UXO/weapons-related dangers. In this context, formal and informal education have to be included as a radical form of action.
Even though the peace has returned in Albania, the consequences and traumas of the war are still present. The programs have been created to face and learn how to deal with this new reality , developing the sense of responsibility and courage within affected communities.

Admir Duraj
Mine & weapon awareness advisor at AMAE.
Rr. Don Bosco
P.O.Box 7447. Tirana. Albania
Tel: ++355 38 214 7661
Admird@hotmail.com

AMAE
Contact: Mrs. Meri Gorenca (training courses).
Rr. 'Donika Kastrioti' Villa 1/1. Tirana, Albania
Tel: + 4 2486 93
Fax: + 4 2486 93
amaealbania@hotmail.com
web site : www.eod-solutions.com/amae/

Institutional Partners
UNICEF
AMAE
Ministry of Education (Albania)
National Institute for Pedagogical Research (Albania)

November 1999