German October to bring wide range of cultural events

“Eight years of German Weeks in Albania is a great success and at the same time an ongoing tradition. Uniting people, crossing borders and establishing communication networks has been the leitmotif of the German October,” says German Ambassador to Albania Hellmut Hoffmann.
TIRANA, Sept. 24 – Theatre, films, music, exhibitions and discussions will be the highlights of this year’s eighth edition of the German October events in Albania. For four weeks, the German October events will focus on cross-border projects linking Albanian culture to that of Germany, bringing together Germans and Albanians exchanging their experience in arts and culture.
Germany-based Albanian singer Eda Zari will also perform in a jazz and lyrical concert showcasing Albanian and German music and poetry in a special form. The singer has been described in Germany as an artist whose music blurs the lines between traditional singing styles of the Balkan state and other genres, with a very strong jazzy edge.
German, Austrian and Swiss bands will also perform in open-air concerts.
An exhibition featuring dictatorship and democracy in the era of extremities will also open at the National Museum of History.
Albanian-German development coope-ration will also be highlighted in a conference by GIZ and KfW, the German technical and financial cooperation agencies.
Renowned Albanian director Stefan ȡpaliku will stage in Albania the Hamletmachine, a postmodernist drama by German playwright and theatre director Heiner Muller, in cooperation with the Goethe Institute in Tirana.
“This autumn we will again have for the eighth consecutive year the German October in Albania. Eight years of German Weeks in Albania is a great success and at the same time an ongoing tradition. Uniting people, crossing borders and establishing communication networks has been the leitmotif of the German October,” says German Ambassador to Albania Hellmut Hoffmann.
“The German October is a clear example of the close relations between Germany and Albania. We would like to turn this year’s German October into a celebration of German-Albanian friendship. A wide range of events including theatrical performances, movies, concerts as well as discussions and information activities are waiting for you.”
Ornela Bego, a corporate relations manager at AMC mobile operator, part of the Deutsche Telekom, supporting the festival says “cultural activities and art events in the frame of the German October are the best opportunity for young artists and art lovers to get to know the achievements of German culture closer.”
In its previous 2012 and 2013 editions, the German October marked the 25th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, and the 25th anniversary of German- Albanian economic cooperation.
Back in 2010, German October celebrations, which corresponded to the 20th anniversary of Germany’s reunification, were marked with a wide-ranging programme of cultural and entertainment events, as well as forums discussing life under communism both in Albania and East Germany until 1990.
Since the early 1980s when the country’s communist regime collapsed and relations between the Germany and Albania were re-established, the Federal Republic’s financial assistance and German private investments have been on the rise.
German Development Cooperation with Albania was launched in 1988, just before the collapse of the communist regime. Since then, the German government has made available around 1 billion euros in financial cooperation projects throughout the country. The focus is on improving municipal infrastructure and energy supply and strengthening the financial sector.