State of Culture in Albania 2025 · Municipal profiles · Artivista Center (Qendra Artivista)
This profile is based on information provided by the Municipality of Selenicë 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) | Vlorë |
| Administrative units | 6: Selenicë, Armen, Brataj, Kotë, Sevaster, Vllahinë |
| Area | 561.52 km² |
| Population, 2023 Census | 9,580 (about 17 residents per km²); 41.6% fewer than in 2011 |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 31.1% (national average 19.7%), among the highest shares in this series |
| Culture budget | 932,000 lek in 2022, rising to 7,467,000 lek in 2025 |
| Cultural institutions | None; culture is run by the Sector of Education and Culture (3 staff in 2025) |
| Activities | 6 a year in 2020 - 2022, 10 in 2023 and 2024, 11 in 2025 |
| Heritage works | None during the period 2020 - 2025 |
| Public consultations | 2 a year, between April and November |
Summary
Selenicë, inland from Vlorë along the Vjosa and Shushica valleys, lost 42% of its population between the 2011 and 2023 censuses, and almost one resident in three is 65 or older. The municipality has no cultural institution of its own: culture is run by the Sector of Education and Culture, with 2 staff until 2023 and 3 since 2024.
The culture budget grew eightfold, from 932,000 lek in 2022 to 7,467,000 lek in 2025, and most of it is distributed to activities. The number of activities rose from 6 a year to 11 in 2025, built around festivals held in different parts of the municipality, from Amantia Fest at the castle in Sevaster to Shushica Fest at the bridge in Brataj.
The municipality's budget plan for 2026 - 2028 confirms the 2025 figure and plans 9.2 million lek a year for 2026 and 2027 and 11.2 million lek for 2028. No work on heritage sites was carried out during the period 2020 - 2025.
1. Governance and institutions
Selenicë has no cultural institution under its administration. Culture is the task of the Sector of Education and Culture, within the Directorate of Social, Health, Education, Culture, Sport and Youth Services. It had 2 staff from 2020 to 2023 and 3 in 2024 and 2025. Because there is no institution, culture earns no income.
2. Funding
The approved culture budget was 932,000 lek in 2022, 3,100,000 lek in 2023, 3,050,380 lek in 2024 and 7,467,000 lek in 2025. Funds distributed in culture were 916,000 lek, 2,334,000 lek, 3,033,885 lek and 6,581,303 lek in the same years. The municipality's budget tables record almost the same actual spending, and plan 9,225,000 lek a year for 2026 and 2027 and 11,225,000 lek for 2028.
3. Cultural programme
The municipality held 6 activities a year from 2020 to 2022, 10 in 2023 and 2024, and 11 in 2025. The town of Selenicë hosts the first edition of the Folklore Festival of the Area, the November celebrations and the 5 May Martyrs' Day commemoration. Kotë hosts later editions of the Folklore Festival, and its village of Vajzë hosts “Vajzë Fest” (art and film). The Drashovica memorial hosts “Epopeja e Drashovicës”, Vllahinë the Summer and Raki Festival, the castle of Amantia in Sevaster the yearly “Amantia Fest”, and the Brati bridge in Brataj “Shushica Fest”, which opens the tourist season.
4. Heritage
The reply states that no restoration, rehabilitation or other work on heritage sites was carried out during the period 2020 - 2025.
5. Planning and public participation
The reply does not list a culture strategy or plan. The municipality holds 2 public consultations a year on culture and heritage, between April and November. It says its activities aim to protect and promote local heritage and support culture across the whole territory.
Conclusions
- The culture budget grew eightfold between 2022 and 2025, and the 2026 - 2028 plan continues to raise it.
- Activities almost doubled, from 6 to 11 a year, spread over five of the six administrative units.
- There is no cultural institution, and culture is run by 3 staff.
- No heritage site was restored during the period 2020 - 2025.
- The population is among the oldest in the country.
Recommendations
Care for heritage sites
Amantia, the Drashovica memorial and the Brati bridge host the main festivals; a plan for their upkeep would protect them.
A small cultural centre
A shared space, run with the communities, could keep activities going between festivals.
Reach Armen too
Armen is the only unit not named in the list of activities.
A short culture plan
Putting the festivals and the growing budget into a short plan would help residents follow how the money is used.
About the data
Population figures come from the INSTAT 2023 Census. Budget, funds, activities, staff, heritage, consultations and places are as reported by the Sector of Education and Culture in the municipality's reply (2026). Budget plans and actual spending come from the municipality's PBA 2026 - 2028 (Council Decision Nr. 78) and the first-phase 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.
