State of Culture in Albania 2025 · Municipal profiles · Artivista Center (Qendra Artivista)
This profile is based on information provided by the Municipality of Pukë in reply to Artivista's request for information on culture (2026), the municipality's medium term budget plans (PBA), and INSTAT's 2023 Population and Housing Census. Amounts are in Albanian lek.
At a glance
| Region (qark) | Shkodër |
| Administrative units | 5: Pukë, Gjegjan, Qelëz, Qerret, Rrapë |
| Area | 505.83 km² |
| Population, 2023 Census | 6,222 (about 12 residents per km²); 43.8% fewer than in 2011 |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 20.0% (national average 19.7%) |
| Culture fund | No separate fund for culture in the yearly budget |
| Culture programme spending, 2025 | 7.5 million lek, mostly wages (programme 08220) |
| Cultural institutions | Children's Cultural Centre (6 staff), Palace of Culture (5 staff), 1 culture specialist |
| Activities | About 15 a year, with civil society organisations |
| Heritage | Reconstruction of the Migjeni School Museum began in 2025 (5 million lek from private donors) |
| Public consultations | 2 during the period 2020 - 2025 |
Summary
Pukë, a mountain town in the north, lost 44% of its population between the 2011 and 2023 censuses and has only about 12 residents per km². Culture is delivered by the Children's Cultural Centre, the Palace of Culture and one culture specialist, 12 staff in all.
The municipality has no separate fund for culture in its yearly budget and distributes no funds to others. It supports about 15 activities a year, organised with civil society organisations, by providing its spaces and equipment; they reach 10,000 to 12,000 people a year. The budget programme for heritage, museums and libraries, which mainly pays the staff, spent 7.5 million lek in 2025.
In 2025 the reconstruction of the Migjeni School Museum began, with 5 million lek from private donors working with the municipality. Pukë has no culture plan yet and says it is collecting data for a future strategy. Two public consultations on culture were held.
1. Governance and institutions
The Children's Cultural Centre in the town of Pukë has 6 staff. The Palace of Culture is part of the municipal structure, with 5 staff, and a culture specialist works in the Directorate of Tourism, Education, Culture and European Integration, 12 staff in total. The reply, dated 17 July 2026, was sent to the Commissioner for the Right to Information, with a copy to Artivista.
2. Staff and funding
The reply states that the yearly budget has no separate fund for culture and that the municipality distributed no funds to others in culture. It supports activities with logistics, putting at their disposal the spaces and assets it manages. The reply does not answer the question on income from cultural institutions.
The municipality's budget programme for culture (heritage, museums and libraries) spent 5,619,000 lek in 2023, 6,119,000 lek in 2024 and 7,469,000 lek in 2025, most of it on wages. The approved budget for 2026 is 8,514,000 lek, revised to 12,771,000 lek to repair the Palace of Culture, and 8,214,000 lek a year is planned for 2027 - 2029.
3. Cultural programme
About 15 activities, festivals or projects a year were organised with civil society organisations working in Pukë during the period 2020 - 2025. They reach 10,000 to 12,000 people a year, mainly the community and small businesses, and help promote the area and its tourism products. The municipality's budget plan sets a target of 12 shows funded by the municipality in 2025, rising to 20 in 2027 and 2028.
4. Heritage
In 2025 the reconstruction of the Migjeni School Museum began, funded with 5,000,000 lek from private donors in cooperation with the municipality. The poet Migjeni taught in Pukë in 1936 - 1937. The revised budget for 2026 also sets aside 4,157,000 lek to repair the ground and first floors of the Palace of Culture “Ndue Shyti”, from June to December 2026.
5. Planning and public participation
Pukë has no approved local plan or policy document for culture and heritage. The municipality says it is collecting data on culture and heritage so that it can prepare a strategy, action plans or projects. Two public consultations on culture and heritage were held during the period 2020 - 2025.
6. Culture across the municipality
Most events take place in the town's central square, of 2,600 m². Local activities were held in the centres of Gjegjan, Qelëz, Luf-Qerret and Korthpulë, in squares and open spaces, and at the lake recreation area, which hosted a children's festival in 2021. Activities in the administrative units were organised with various donors.
Conclusions
- Pukë has no separate culture fund and supports activities with its spaces and equipment.
- About 15 activities a year are organised with civil society organisations.
- Spending on the culture programme, mostly wages, rose from 5.6 million lek in 2023 to 7.5 million lek in 2025.
- The 2026 budget includes 4.2 million lek to repair the Palace of Culture.
- Private donors are funding the reconstruction of the Migjeni School Museum.
- There is no culture plan yet; the municipality is collecting data for one.
- The population fell by 44% between the two censuses.
Recommendations
A small culture fund
Even a modest yearly fund for activities would give the civil society partners more stability.
Finish the Migjeni School Museum
Completing the museum and opening it to visitors and schools would give Pukë a strong cultural landmark.
Turn the data into a strategy
The data being collected could become a short culture strategy, discussed with residents and the civil society partners.
Report income
Answering the question on income from cultural institutions would complete the picture of culture in Pukë.
About the data
Population figures come from the INSTAT 2023 Census. Funds, activities, institutions, staff, heritage, plans and consultations are as reported by the Directorate of Tourism, Education, Culture and European Integration in the municipality's reply (17 July 2026). Budget figures come from the municipality's PBA 2026 - 2028 with the 2026 budget (Council Decision Nr. 43, 19 December 2025) and the revised PBA 2027 - 2029.
Every effort has been made to base this analysis on the data provided by the municipality, complemented with data from its Medium Term Budget Programmes (PBA) published online. For comments or questions, please contact artivista@arti-vista.org.
This article was prepared within the CulturAL project, with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the National Centre for Community Services and Artivista Center and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
