Albania

Brixhita Deda
3) Education, Training & skills
Member of the Selection Committee
Albania

Brixhita Deda is an architect and heritage consultant. She studied Sustainable Heritage at The Bartlett, UCL’s Faculty of the Built Environment. In 2020, she joined Ecocietystudies to research the post-conflict collective memory in Kosovo and address the reuse of the buildings through a participatory process. Brixhita encourages active citizenship to advocate for heritage preservation.

 

Sadi Petrela
5) Heritage Champions
Member of the Selection Committee
Albania

Since 2006, Sadi Petrela has served as the Executive Director of the Gjirokastra Foundation, steering its mission to safeguard and enhance cultural heritage within the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gjirokastra, Albania. Drawing upon a rich background in journalism, media ethics, and history education, Petrela has successfully directed more than 50 pioneering initiatives. These endeavours encompass heritage restoration, the preservation of traditional arts, the creation of museums, and the development of cultural tourism.
The Foundation employs a participatory, community-centric model of cultural management, fostering connections between Gjirokastra and other historic centres while navigating complex political and economic landscapes. Its notable achievements include the restoration of traditional architecture, the preservation of artisanal crafts, the establishment of a historic museum, and the transformation of a Communist-era tunnel into a tourist attraction for the first time in the country.
In 2021, the Foundation was honoured with the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Award for Dedicated Service to Heritage, affirming its standing as a trailblazer in heritage conservation on both national and regional stages.