On April 15th  and 16th, 2025  the Albanian Center for Family Development held two educational sessions with students from the “Leonik Tomeo” high school in Durrës, in the framework of the project “Awareness and Engagementy of Youth on Safety and Education”. Through the vehicle simulator, the students experienced firsthand the consequences of a road accident and then discussed with safety experts and representatives from the Durres Local Police Directorate the risks associated with distraction, failure to use seat belts and failure to respect the rules. The activity served as a call for more care and responsibility on the road.  

SCPA Project Management Team had a meeting with team of the Swedish Support Program to the Albanian State Police on ‘Crime Scene Investigation and Sexual and Gender-based Violence’. The meeting convened at the SCPA Program premises on 17th March 21st November 2024. Mr Ansi Shundi, SCPA Program Team Leader and Mr Johan Hasselmark, Team Leader of the “CSI and SGBV” Program and other team members present in the meeting from both Swedish Programs shared and exchanged information as regards the respective work plan activities to be carried out from each program in support of the main beneficiary, the Albanian State Police. The aim of the meeting was to discuss and coordinate the activities of each program in order to avoid overlapping of activities between the two Swedish programs. At the end of the meeting both parties agreed to continue their cooperation by keeping each other informed on further programs’ development and implementation.  

On April 15th, 2025 the “Unemployed Northeastern Woman” NGO in the framework of the project “Children’s Road Safety and Community Policing in the Municipality of Puka” initiated the cycle of awareness-raising and information meetings on road safety, with a meeting at the elementary school “Migjeni” in Puka. The activity was organized with fourth-grade children age group and focused on getting to know traffic lights – safety as a colorful adventure and understanding traffic lights according to their colors. Comparisons were made between traffic lights for vehicles and for pedestrians, zebra crossing, rules and pavements for pedestrians, etc. At the end, a quiz was held with pupils, as an entertaining game about the knowledge gained on the meaning of traffic light colors and the identification of signs in road traffic, taking their first steps to becoming safer road users.  

On 11 and 14 April 2025, the ‘Albanian Center for Family Development’ held a different educational session at the “Olsi Lasko” high school in Shkozet, as part of the project “Awareness and Engagement of Youth on Safety and Education”. Around 60 students experienced first-hand the consequences of an accident through a car simulator and reflected on the importance of wearing a seat belt, avoiding the use of phone and paying attention on the road. The activity was organized in collaboration with police officers from Durres Local Police Directorate and road safety experts, and brought strong emotions, but also clear messages: safety starts with each of us.  

The “Gender, Peace and Security” Association organized on April 11, 2025, a workshop in the framework of the project “Strengthening Cooperation and Interventions for the Prevention and Addressing of Domestic Violence and Gender-Based Violence through the Functioning of Local Mechanisms and Community Policing”. Representatives of the police organization, municipality, health and education sectors – providers of services for domestic and gender-based violence in Durrës, gathered together to discuss the challenges encountered during the work on managing cases of violence and the importance of coordinating all actors in addressing the identified needs. Another goal of this workshop was to establish working groups with representatives from these institutions, to continue the necessary cooperation for management of cases during the implementation of the project but also to maintain sustainability beyond project closure.  

On 9 and 10 April 2025, the Albanian Center for Family Development held educational sessions with students of the “Beqir Çela” vocational school in Shkozet, within the framework of the “Awareness and Engagement of Youth on Safety and Education” project. In cooperation with the Durrës LPD police officers and road safety experts, about 40 youngsters participated in an accident simulation with a car simulator and discussed safe behaviors on the road. The activity raised awareness about the importance of respecting the rules by handling road safety as a common responsibility.  

On April 2nd, 2025, the Strengthening Community Policing in Albania (SCPA) program held a training session at the Oxford Hotel in Tirana addressed to the representatives of four NGOs selected to implement the Local Safety Measurement Survey (LSMS) in the regions of Durres, Elbasan, Fier, and Shkodra. Participants included project coordinators, interviewers, and supervisors from each NGO, with a total of 18 attendees. The training aimed to ensure a solid understanding of the survey’s objectives, questionnaire structure, household selection methods, and the use of Google Forms for field data collection. This activity is part of the Grant Scheme under the third phase of the SCPA program (2024–2029), which aims to strengthen partnerships between the State Police, LCPS (Local Councils of Public Safety) and local communities. The LSMS serves as a vital tool to measure public perceptions of safety, exposure to crime, and satisfaction with police work. Based on population-based random sampling, the survey generates valuable insights into the state of public order and community safety, contributing to evidence-based policymaking in alignment with Albania’s Cross-Sectoral Strategy on Community Safety 2021–2026.

The “Gender, Peace and Security” Association, on 3rd April 2025, organized the launch meeting of the project “Strengthening Cooperation and Interventions for the Prevention and Addressing of Domestic Violence and Gender-Based Violence through the Functioning of Local Mechanisms and Community Policing”, within the framework of the Swedish program Strengthening Community Policing in Albania – SCPA. The launch meeting, which brought together about 30 participants, service providers at the local level, police, municipality, prefecture, health sector, education sector and civil society, aimed to present the project and further establish the necessary inter-institutional cooperation for the implementation of the project and the efficient provision of services to victims of violence. The meeting served to share the challenges faced by victims of violence in accessing services and the role of local actors in providing services.  

On 02-04 April 2025, General Patrol Officers (Fier and Mallakastra Police Commissariats) and Command and Control Room personnel from Fier Local Police Directorate participated in the training delivered by SCPA PMT in Fier LPD. The trainees are introduced to both theoretical and practical exercises and group work by focusing on CP philosophy and implementation of its elements into the daily routine of ASP officers. In addition, they are presented with situations/practical exercises to be handled with and solved by them as they work in groups with the aim of providing measures to be taken proactively in order to implement the CP elements. In order to provide a comprehensive training module on CP SCPA cooperates with CVE, whose experts provide interactive lecturing on Countering Violent Extremism. Best EU practices on CP philosophy implementation are shared with the ASP officers. At the end of such training the ASP officers are able to enhance their knowledge and capacities on implementation of CP.  

On 25th March 2025, an awareness-raising activity regarding road safety was organized in the city of Shkodra as part of the “Go for Life” project of the grantee organization EKO Mendje. Activists went out into the field with green vests, signboards, road cones and information brochures to raise awareness and sensitize citizens on the rules of safe mobility in the city. The activity attracted a lot of interest from pedestrians, cyclists and car drivers. Local media also covered this activity as an important initiative aiming at increasing road safety and avoiding traffic in the city.