On International Mountain Day[1], December 11, 2024, the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) and the Albanian Network for Rural Development, in close cooperation with the Parliamentary Committee for Productive Activities, Trade, and Environment, will organize a hearing to discuss the recommendations from the Citizens’ Panels on Rural and Mountain Tourism and the Mountain Package.

The hearing highlights opportunities and challenges in mountain development and fosters alliances that bring positive change for mountain people and communities. Albania’s mountain areas represent extraordinary natural and cultural assets with significant potential for sustainable economic development, particularly in mountain tourism. However, these areas face severe challenges, including depopulation, poverty, and climate change, threatening not only the well-being of residents but also the preservation of the heritage and identity of mountain communities.

 

Rural and Mountain tourism, as a strategic priority for sustainable development, was a key theme of the Citizens’ Panels.[2] This initiative brought together citizens from various regions to discuss and recommend concrete measures for mountain tourism development. Discussions focused on the economic impact and supportive regulatory framework for rural and mountain tourism, the diversification of tourism services, the revitalization of rural and mountain areas, and environmental sustainability. Citizens actively engaged in an in-depth and informed consultation process, culminating in a list of 10 priorities and related recommendations to co-create mountain tourism policies.

The purpose of this hearing is to synchronize two parallel and critical developments for mountain tourism:

  1. The government’s yet-to-be-revealed initiative, known as the “Mountain Package,” and
  2. The synthesis of findings from the Citizens’ Panels on rural and mountain tourism.

This synergy is essential to ensure that the government program addresses mountain area challenges by integrating citizens’ perspectives on priorities and concrete measures for mountain tourism development. A successful hearing will strengthen sustainable development policies for these regions through citizen participation and co-creation of policies.

[1] UN, International Mountain Day. https://www.un.org/en/observances/mountain-day

[2] The Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), together with Involve UK, implemented the deliberative methodology of “Citizens’ Panels: A new way to engage in Parliamentary processes” on the issues of rural and mountain tourism development from October 17-19, 2024. Below are two summary videos of the activity: https://youtu.be/6pIëb6F0uBë and https://youtu.be/lbë4IoQQ_pI. This initiative is part of the project “Increase Parliament’s Responsiveness to Citizens’ Concerns,” implemented by the Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), the Albanian Institute of Science, and Citizens Channel, with financial support from the British Government.