Tirana, Albania – The Albania country chapter of the Women’s Democracy Network (WDN) held its first training for women running for office in the local elections scheduled for May 2011. This first training focused on communications and public speaking.

The conference also provided an opportunity for positive exposure of the goals and objectives set forward by the Albania country chapter. WDN Director Michelle Bekkering (second from right), Albania country chapter Chairwoman Elma Tershana and Blerta Balilaj also met with the Speaker of the Albanian Parliament Jozefina Topalli, the first woman to hold the position of Speaker. Speaker Topalli commended the International Republican Institute on its 20 years of work in Albania and stated her interest in working with WDN in Albania.

The group also met with Dr. Liri Berisha, wife of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and President of the Albanian Children’s Foundation. Berisha expressed interest in the mission of WDN and offered her partnership in upcoming activities. Berisha shared her views on women in Albania stating that women are generally respected but they must “start believing in themselves; once they stop prejudicing themselves, others will too.”

Women at the communications and public speaking training for Albanian women heard from Deb Sofield (pictured left), an executive speech coach, and former president of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University. Sofield led a training on effective communication techniques. Following the first day of trainings, each woman gave an on-camera speech after which Sofield offered critiques, advice, and one-on-one feedback to each of the participants. The feedback from Sofield will aid in improving the image and delivery of the speeches given by the participants in the upcoming elections.

Participants also had the opportunity to hear from female legislators who shared their experiences and advice on how to be effective representatives of one’s constituency. Member of Parliament Vasilika Hysa, a first-term Socialist member, shared her beliefs that the current legislative quota for women is positive, stating “we have the capacity to compete quite well with men directly.”

Participants also heard from Lajla Pernaska, Member of Parliament representing the Democratic Party. Pernaska stated that women need to view “politics not simply as an activity, but as your contribution to your society.” She also went on to praise WDN, stating “this event is a further step ahead to empower the status of Albanian women in politics, and I am proud to be an original member of the WDN since 2006.”

The training was the kick-off for a series of trainings which will be conducted by the Albanian country chapter through support from the WDN. The project is intended to strengthen the political education of women.

Albanian women have shown their eagerness to participate in the trainings. As one participants remarked, “Before I came to this training, I thought my mind was full of knowledge on this subject. But now I realize it was empty.“