State of Culture in Albania 2025 · Municipal profiles · Artivista Center (Qendra Artivista)
This profile is based on information provided by the Municipality of Roskovec 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) | Fier |
| Administrative units | 4: Roskovec, Kuman, Kurjan, Strum |
| Area | 118.01 km² |
| Population, 2023 Census | 16,332 (about 138 residents per km²); 24.9% fewer than in 2011 |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 20.2% (national average 19.7%) |
| Spending on cultural activities | 0.94 million lek in 2020, 3.21 million in 2025 |
| Cultural structure | Directorate of Culture: Historical Museum, Culture and Library sectors |
| Staff | 10 |
| Heritage works | Old municipal building turned into a museum (2023); memorial and fountains (2025) |
| Public consultations | 1 (2024, on the Historical Museum) |
Summary
Roskovec, the farming town in the Fier plain known for its greenhouses and olives, lost a quarter of its population between the 2011 and 2023 censuses. Culture is run by a Directorate of Culture with three sectors, the Historical Museum, Culture and the Library, and 10 staff.
Spending on cultural activities grew from 936,000 lek in 2020 to 3.21 million lek in 2025, and more than 91% of the planned amount was spent every year. The municipality holds the Greenhouse Festival, the Town Day on 24 July, the Olive Festival and “Person of the Year” every year, and in 2025 added a literary festival and the festival “Roma Romale”.
In 2023 the old municipal building was repaired and turned into a museum, which will start selling tickets in 2026. One public consultation, in 2024, discussed the museum.
1. Governance and institutions
A director leads the Directorate of Culture, which has three sectors in the town centre. The Historical Museum sector (3 staff) manages and promotes the area's history and heritage. The Culture sector (3 staff: a head, a sport specialist and a music specialist) organises cultural, artistic and sports activities. The Library sector (3 staff, including a photographer) runs the public library in the House of Culture. Staff from other directorates help with large events.
2. Staff and funding
The planned and actual spending on cultural activities was 958,440 and 936,000 lek in 2020, 1,500,000 and 1,440,000 lek in 2021, 2,500,000 and 2,286,840 lek in 2022, 2,530,200 and 2,529,600 lek in 2023, 3,222,240 and 2,940,000 lek in 2024, and 3,509,700 and 3,214,380 lek in 2025. Year-end activities in 2021 had a further 2,487,114 lek planned and 2,270,856 lek spent, and social and cultural activities in 2022 a further 300,000 and 280,000 lek. The municipality's medium term budget plan 2024 - 2026 sets 10,567,000 lek a year for the culture programme, which also covers staff. The cultural institutions earn no income yet.
3. Cultural programme
The Greenhouse Festival, the Town Day on 24 July, the Olive Festival and the award “Person of the Year” were held every year from 2020 to 2025. In 2025 the municipality added the literary festival “Stephanaophano” and, for the first time, the festival “Roma Romale”, to promote cultural diversity. Local artists, writers, craftspeople, art groups, students and businesses took part. In 2026 the municipality organised a cart and horse race for the first time, to keep an old local tradition alive.
4. Heritage
In 2023 the old municipal building was partly repaired and turned into a museum, for 2,520,000 lek including VAT. In 2025 the town memorial and its two fountains were repainted and a decorative stone statue was added, for 2,027,147 lek including VAT.
5. Planning and public participation
The municipality supports young artists, painters, craftspeople and writers, and wants to make the cart and horse race a yearly event for cultural tourism. One public consultation, in 2024, discussed the opening and running of the Historical Museum.
6. Culture across the municipality
Activities reach all four units: the Olive Festival is held in Kurjan, the Greenhouse Festival in Strum, summer festivals in villages across the units, and the Town Day in Roskovec. Venues include Bazaar Square, the House of Culture, the museum, sports grounds, the lakeside, schools and community centres.
Conclusions
- Spending on cultural activities more than tripled between 2020 and 2025.
- More than 91% of the planned amount was spent each year.
- A Directorate of Culture with 10 staff runs the museum, library and events.
- The old municipal building became a museum, with tickets from 2026.
- Festivals reach all four units, from Kurjan to Strum.
Recommendations
Show the full culture budget
Explaining how the activity spending relates to the 10.6 million lek culture programme in the budget plan would give residents the full picture.
More consultation
With new festivals and a new museum, more public meetings on culture would help shape the programme.
Build up the museum
Tracking visitors and ticket income from 2026 would show how the museum grows.
Promote local traditions
The olive, greenhouse and horse traditions could become a cultural route through the four units.
About the data
Population figures come from the INSTAT 2023 Census. Spending, activities, institutions, staff, heritage works and consultations are as reported by the municipality in its reply (2026). The culture programme figure comes from the municipality's medium term budget plan (PBA) 2024 - 2026.
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.
