On March 23-25, UNICEF Albania in collaboration with ICTSlab organized the fifth edition of Ponder in Albania in the city of Berat.

An event that aroused high interest among the youth of this town, only 60 young people were selected to join this edition during the application process.

Organized in the framework of n the framework of Project “Qëndro” financed by Italian Government and in partnership with Ministry of Education and Sports, Ministry of Finance and Economics, Ministry of State for Youth and Children, National Agency for Skills and Employment, Italian Embassy in Albania.

Tirana, Elbasan, Korça and lastly Berat are among the cities of Albania that hoted Ponder, a social-youth program built to foster critical thinking skills towards the information faced by teenagers and young adults in social and traditional media.

Ponder is founded upon a curriculum implemented by UNICEF on several countries around the world and consists of lectures, games, interactive exercises and introduced during a 3-day event.

Adolescents 15-21 years old can apply to join Ponder and this program has attracted the attention of dozens of young people with a passion about literature, writing, print and visual media and social media.

During the Berat edition, young people were supported by a group of 10 mentors working and engaged in the field of media and publication: Flogert Muça, Xheni Hatillari, Iden Petraj, Adriatik Mema, Adrian Hysi, Esmeralda Harizi, Ergerta Lakra, Eftali Dingo, Sindi Hajdaraj and Xhezide Gurguri.

Ponder curriculum implemented during the three-day event consists of four modules: “Critical Media Literacy” and “Types of Media” that took place during the first day of workshop and followed on the second day by “Photography Reading” and “Empowering through Critical Media Literacy.”

Part of the curriculum, during the first day Ponder youth watched the movie “Beyond the Lines” followed by counseling sessions with the mentors for the essays they would prepare on the second day.

During the third module on the second day, groups of young people created stories based on images and took their photos to present them for other groups. The fourth module comes in a form a discussions between mentors, participants and staff members.

Ponder hosted Mr. Kushtrim Shala, co-founder of ICTSlab on the second day and Mr. Ervin Demo, Berat Major and Ms. Vitore Sulejmani, Director of Youth Centre of Berat, on the third and last day when the evaluation of works took place.

During his remarks, Mr. Demo expressed his gratitude for the organization of Ponder in the city of Berat.

6 best works of Ponder Berat were rewarded with paid internships at local and national medias. Each participant, mentor and volunteer were awarded with relevant certificates.

The closing ceremony of the program was greeted by those present and the director of ICTSlab Ms. Esmeralda Shala.

The Winners of Ponder Berat:

  • Nurilda Hoxha, “News, true and false”
  • Libera Branko, “The impact of social media on modern society”
  • Faria Mbrakulli, “Our voice”
  • Kejsi Memaj, “Social media and children”
  • Afrodhiti Liçe, “My teacher”
  • Ester Xhindi, “We must stay in Albania, the youth must be what will advance this country”