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Teachers matter. They make a difference in the life of the individual and the society at large. Hence, their education and training has always been at the centre of any government's education policy. This paper focuses on teacher education in Albania. The narrative describes and analyzes the main milestones in teacher education during the four historical periods of Albania: the National Awakening, Independence, Totalitarianism and Post-totalitarianism. The main thrust of the paper is to examine how the historical, political and socio-cultural factors interrelate to influence on teacher education and pedagogy at certain points in time of Albania's history. The paper reveals the way the western educational ideas that emerged and evolved during the pre World War II period were suppressed during totalitarianism, but were reasserted when Albania transitioned to democracy.

Teachers matter. They make a difference in the life of the individual and the society at large. Hence, their education and training has always been at the centre of any government's education policy. This paper focuses on teacher education in Albania. The narrative describes and analyzes the main milestones in teacher education during the four historical periods of Albania: the National Awakening, Independence, Totalitarianism and Post-totalitarianism. The main thrust of the paper is to examine how the historical, political and socio-cultural factors interrelate to influence on teacher education and pedagogy at certain points in time of Albania's history. The paper reveals the way the western educational ideas that emerged and evolved during the pre World War II period were suppressed during totalitarianism, but were reasserted when Albania transitioned to democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept on the nature of conflicts awakens the idea of their approach to the existence of human instincts, which existed before the emergence of man, but also during his lifetime. By analogy, the origin and nature of the conflict are closely linked to the birth, existence of man and human society. At the core of conflicts as a powerful generator that gives birth to and nurtures them, lies the unequal distribution and appropriation of the production of the material goods of society and nature. The control of the political class over the economy creates oligarchic symbiosis between business and politics, while the liberal economic environment creates premises for the exploitation of the natural resources of the community by individuals associated with power. The range of conflicts in the society of our age includes aspirations and the fight against inequalities that limit the participation of citizens in the management of society and the construction of their future by political, economic, and social means. The existence of conflicts proves the presence of opposites in the field of ideas and social relations as well as their emergence in different areas of life. One of the most serious motivations for the birth and generation of conflicts is the diversity of thoughts about the world around us. Such a vital phenomenon that gives variety, meaning and development to social life, in certain situations can turn into a fierce conflict between the parties to establish the rule or direction of society. The following paper aims to influence the formation of beliefs and dialectical attitude on the recognition, understanding and resolution of conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the latest fast technology developments many EU and other countries, including Albania, are focusing more and more on means how to contribute to rule of law improvement through access to information, civic engagement and communication technology, with e-government being the prime example of that method. In the case of Albania, e - government has certainly brought a lot of identified benefits to citizens, among which enhancing transparency and faster service. Nonetheless, considering this project can still be considered at early stages of development, there are few remaining measured implementing challenges that need to be analyzed further. Potential remaining impediments may be linked to public participation, information sharing, active civic engagement, socio-economic and cultural democracy constraints, etc. We value that it is important to discuss these situations in detail, in order to ensure further successful application of quality e-services. Therefore, the scope of this submission is to discuss the proven benefits and few potential implementation challenges of e-government service in Albania, as this tool is vastly becoming a global definition for transforming the way civic engagement and public service work. We also aim to provide some suggestions on how the use of e-government in Albania can be potentially used as a rule of law and anti-corruption instrument for its path towards EU integration, and to create Albanian active citizen of the future. As most of us are aware, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the issue of Albania’s accession to the European Union. The Western Balkans countries’ - Albania included – have had a challenging road towards the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law in general. In February 2020, the new enlargement methodology for the WB was published by the Commission. The new methodology promotes the merit-based approach and brings a new conditionality to light - negotiations can be put on hold in certain areas, or in the most serious cases, suspended overall, in case of progress reassessment of WB countries. In that context, will the EU learn from past mistakes and guarantee a credible acceleration in the process of Albania’s future membership? The current state of play on Albania’s path to the European Union will be discussed in detail in the second half of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]