State of Culture in Albania 2025 · Municipal profiles · Artivista Center (Qendra Artivista)
This profile is based on information provided by the Municipality of Vau i Dejës in reply to Artivista's request for information on culture (2026) and INSTAT's 2023 Population and Housing Census. Amounts are in Albanian lek.
At a glance
| Region (qark) | Shkodër |
| Administrative units | 6: Vau i Dejës, Bushat, Hajmel, Shllak, Temal, Vig-Mnelë |
| Area | 499.35 km² |
| Population, 2023 Census | 19,261 (about 39 residents per km²); 36.7% fewer than in 2011 |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 22.0% (national average 19.7%) |
| Culture operating budget, planned | 1.16 million lek in 2020, 6.13 million lek in 2025 |
| Cultural institutions | Children's Cultural Centre in Bushat; Cultural Centre “Gjin Shkoza” closed until its building is rebuilt |
| Staff | 9 throughout the period 2020 - 2025 |
| Public consultations on culture | None |
| Strategy | Tourism Development Plan 2025 - 2030, funded by the EU |
Summary
Vau i Dejës, on the Drin river, lost 36.7% of its population between the 2011 and 2023 censuses. Its reply reports the culture budget in parts: operating costs every year, wages only for 2020 - 2022, and investment only for 2020 and 2025. The planned operating budget grew from 1.16 million lek in 2020 to 6.13 million lek in 2025.
The Children's Cultural Centre in Bushat, with 9 staff, is the only working cultural institution; the Cultural Centre “Gjin Shkoza” is closed until its building is rebuilt. Yearly events include the opening of the tourist season, the Emigrants' Festival and the 5 September day of Mother Teresa.
No public consultation on culture took place. The main planning document is a Tourism Development Plan for 2025 - 2030, funded by the European Union.
1. Governance and institutions
The Children's Cultural Centre, in the Bushat administrative unit, is the cultural institution run by the municipality, with 9 staff. A second institution, the Cultural Centre “Gjin Shkoza”, is out of use because its building has not been rebuilt.
2. Funding
Planned operating costs were 1,160,000 lek in 2020, 960,000 lek in 2021, 1,100,000 lek in 2022, 4,320,000 lek in 2023, 5,530,000 lek in 2024 and 6,130,000 lek in 2025. Actual operating spending is given from 2022: 871,532 lek, 3,283,507 lek, 3,756,340 lek and 4,404,863 lek. Wages of 170,000 lek a year are reported for 2020 - 2022 only, and planned investment of 8,000,000 lek in 2020 and 1,048,890 lek in 2025, with no actual figures. The reply says all figures are reconciled with the Treasury Branch in Shkodër.
3. Cultural programme
The municipality supports the opening of the tourist season, the Emigrants' Festival and the 5 September day marking Mother Teresa's canonisation. Its artistic group took part in the Gjirokastër Artistic Festival on 28 June 2023. The Education Sector organised school competitions: chess in 2023, boys' mini-football in 2024 and girls' volleyball in 2025.
4. Heritage
The reply gives no figures on funds used to restore heritage sites during the period 2020 - 2025.
5. Planning and public participation
The Municipal Council had no draft decisions on culture that needed a public consultation. The Tourism and Cultural Heritage Sector points to the Tourism Development Plan 2025 - 2030, “Vau i Dejës si Destinacion Turistik”, made with EU support through the Centre for the Promotion of Competitiveness. It names three destinations: Komani, with Lake Komani and the Cukali mountains; the Drin valley and Lake Vau i Dejës; and Bushat, home of the Diocese of Sapë, for cultural tourism and agrotourism.
6. Culture across the municipality
Activities take place in open spaces of the administrative units, in schools and at the Ndre Mjeda Museum in Kukël, following the yearly calendar. The reply gives no figures by unit and no figures on income from culture.
Conclusions
- The reply reports the culture budget in parts, with gaps in wages, actual spending and investment.
- The planned operating budget grew from 1.16 million lek in 2020 to 6.13 million lek in 2025.
- The Children's Cultural Centre in Bushat has 9 staff; the Cultural Centre “Gjin Shkoza” is closed.
- No public consultation on culture took place.
- The main planning document is an EU-funded tourism plan, not a culture strategy.
Recommendations
A complete budget
Reporting planned and actual figures for wages, operating costs and investment in every year would show the full budget.
Reopen “Gjin Shkoza”
Rebuilding the centre would give the municipality a second working cultural institution.
Heritage spending
Reporting what was spent on heritage sites would answer an open question in the reply.
A culture strategy
A culture strategy next to the tourism plan would give heritage and the arts their own aims.
About the data
Population figures come from the INSTAT 2011 and 2023 censuses. Budget, institutions, staff, activities and plans are as reported by the Municipality of Vau i Dejës in its reply (2026), including the Tourism Development Plan 2025 - 2030.
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.
