The OSCE has become our coach and supports all of us who plan to remain in Albania for the long run.

Back in 2003, many believed that the MJAFT (“Enough” in Albanian) campaign was merely a utopian dream of a handful of young people who naïvely believed that tackling civic apathy could be the answer to irresponsible politics that seemed to be the norm in Albania. Among the few that allowed themselves to be inspired and touched by this dream were some of the country’s leading public figures as well as the OSCE Presence in Albania, which over the past two years has continued to advise and partner with MJAFT.

Today, the MJAFT movement has become one of the leading advocates for change in Albania and was awarded the UN Civil Society Award in 2004, thanks largely to the generous support of the OSCE. Achievements such as a substantial increase in the education budget, improving environmental legislation, access to parliament, testimonies held in US Congress and freedom of information are all successes that have continually been facilitated via the expertise and network of OSCE officers.

In 2003 and 2005, MJAFT partnered with the OSCE Presence to launch two of the largest and most successful “Get out the Vote” campaigns ever to be held in Albania. These campaigns contributed significantly to an increase in voter turnout as well as helped to break the persistent myth among young people that politics is only about the “old boys” in power. OSCE field offices have coached MJAFT Civic Clubs and supported them in coordinating city hall hearings as well as organizing debates with local candidates, thus helping to ensure that each citizen is empowered with the sense of being a unique shareholder in local community affairs.

Rather than controlling and patronizing local groups with overwhelming “international knowledge”, the OSCE Presence in Albania found value in reversing that trend in development work, and chose instead to become our coach and to support all of us who plan to remain in Albania for the long run. For that, all of us at MJAFT will remain very grateful.

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