State of Culture in Albania 2025 · Municipal profiles · Artivista Center (Qendra Artivista)
This profile is based on information provided by the Municipality of Delvinë 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 | 2: Delvinë (town and 10 villages) and Vergo (8 villages) |
| Area | 182.9 km² |
| Population, 2023 Census | 6,166 (about 33.7 residents per km²); 18.8% fewer than in 2011 |
| Residents aged 65 and over | 26.7% (national average 19.7%) |
| Culture budget, planned | 3,602,000 lek in 2020; 10,525,000 lek in 2025 |
| Culture budget, funds | 3,400,000 lek in 2020; 6,496,000 lek in 2025 |
| Cultural institutions | 1: Cultural Centre “Myrteza Leka” (5 staff) |
| Public consultations on culture | 3 to 4 a year |
Summary
Delvinë, in Vlorë region, runs its cultural life through one institution, the Cultural Centre “Myrteza Leka”, with five staff. During the period 2020 - 2025 the culture budget grew steadily, and in the municipality's budget plan culture accounts for about 2.0% to 2.3% of the municipal budget, above the national average of 1.56%. Delvinë therefore gives culture a relatively high priority in its spending.
The number of activities, however, has not followed the growth of the budget. In 2022 the Cultural Centre supported 12 cultural events and 17 activities for young people; from 2023 onwards these numbers fell to between five and seven a year. Part of the additional funds went to buildings, such as the reconstruction of the second floor of the Palace of Culture in 2023, while the municipality reported no spending on heritage restoration. How heritage sites are counted also varies between documents.
Delvinë has a good practice that many municipalities lack: it holds three to four public consultations on culture every year. These consultations, however, have not yet led to a written culture strategy. With a population that is older than the national average and that fell by 18.8% between 2011 and 2023, a clear plan would help the municipality decide how best to use its cultural budget for residents of all ages.
1. Governance and institutions
Culture is delivered through one institution, the Cultural Centre “Myrteza Leka” in the town centre, which had five staff throughout the period 2020 - 2025. The municipality's reply does not name a directorate responsible for it.
At the level of the municipality as a whole, the long term development strategy names cultural tourism as one of two priority sectors to 2030, together with agriculture and livestock, with the aim of promoting cultural heritage sites to attract more visitors. This gives culture a clear place in the municipality's development vision, even though there is no dedicated culture strategy.
2. Funding
The culture budget increased considerably over the period. The planned amount rose from 3,602,000 lek in 2020 to 10,525,000 lek in 2025, and the funds reported by the municipality from 3,400,000 lek to 6,496,000 lek. Two investments are recorded separately: 1,212,000 lek in 2023 for the reconstruction of the second floor of the Palace of Culture, and 3,956,000 lek in 2025 for a project that is not named.
The municipality gives these figures without a unit (for example 3.602 and 3.400 for 2020). They are shown here in lek, read as thousands of lek, which is consistent with the budget plan. The second column is headed “Fondet” (funds) and is read here as actual spending; the municipality does not specify this, nor whether the investments are included in the totals.
The municipality's medium term budget plan (PBA) for 2023 - 2025 shows the culture programme at 3,400,000 lek in 2020 and 3,199,000 lek in 2021, exactly matching the municipality's figures, and at 4,080,000 lek in 2022. For 2023 - 2025 it forecast 4,000,000 lek a year. The funds actually reported for these years were higher, which suggests that the budget was increased after the plan was prepared.
Based on the budget plan, culture spending amounts to about 551 to 662 lek per resident a year. In 2025, using the municipality's own figure, it reached about 1,054 lek per resident, including that year's investment. The Cultural Centre earns no income of its own.
3. Cultural programme
According to the budget plan, the Cultural Centre supported 8 cultural events and 10 activities for young people in 2020, 7 and 12 in 2021, and 12 and 17 in 2022. In 2023 both numbers fell to 5, remained at 5 in 2024 and rose to 7 in 2025. The decline is most noticeable for young people, who are already a small group in the town: only 11.4% of residents are under 15. The municipality also organises one or two fairs in most years, and the best known event, named in the reply, is the “Traditë Shije Delvinjote” fair held each August.
Activities take place in the town's central square and at the Cultural Centre. Asked about beneficiaries and the distribution of funds, the reply gives only the investment amounts for 2023 and 2025, without a beneficiary count or a breakdown by category.
4. Heritage
The budget plan uses three different heritage indicators: 10 cultural heritage assets (2020 - 2025), 15 cultural heritage assets under the municipality's administration (2021 - 2025) and 15 cultural heritage institutions (2020 - 2025). It also records one functional building for cultural affairs. The plan does not explain how these indicators relate to each other, so it is not clear how many heritage sites the municipality is responsible for.
In its reply, the municipality stated that no funds were used for restoration or intervention in cultural heritage objects during the period 2020 - 2025. The same reply, however, records the reconstruction of the second floor of the Palace of Culture in 2023 and an unnamed investment in 2025. The likely explanation is that the Palace of Culture is not counted among the municipality's heritage assets, but the reply does not say so. Clarifying this would help residents understand how heritage is funded.
5. Staff
The Cultural Centre had five staff in every year of the period, according to both the municipality's reply and the budget plan. Staffing is therefore stable, and the decline in activities after 2022 cannot be explained by a reduction in staff.
6. Planning and public participation
Delvinë holds three to four public consultations on culture every year, which shows a regular dialogue with residents. However, during the period 2020 - 2025 no strategy, local plan or policy document for culture was adopted, and the reply did not say whether any is being prepared. Without a written plan, it is difficult to see how the views gathered in these consultations are reflected in the programme and the budget.
7. Culture across the municipality
The reply lists the two administrative units, Delvinë and Vergo, but does not describe how activities, investments or infrastructure are distributed between them. Since Vergo includes eight villages, information on where activities take place would show whether its residents also benefit from the cultural programme.
8. National and European context
Under the National Tourism Strategy 2024 - 2030, Vlorë region, including Delvinë, belongs to the Ionian Coast cluster, where culture is one of three main tourism products. The cultural sites named for the cluster, such as Butrint, Kaninë Castle and the Orikum and Amantia archaeological sites, are in Sarandë, Vlorë and Himarë; none are in Delvinë. Delvinë's own priority on cultural tourism could help it find a place within this regional offer.
As an EU candidate country, Albania has access to EU support for culture through IPA and the EU4Culture programme. No evidence was found that Delvinë has used these instruments.
9. Key findings
- Culture's share of the municipal budget is above the national average, and the culture budget has grown considerably during the period 2020 - 2025.
- The number of cultural events and youth activities fell after 2022, from 12 and 17 to between five and seven a year, although staff numbers stayed the same.
- The reply reports no heritage restoration spending, while recording investments in the Palace of Culture in 2023 and in an unnamed project in 2025; heritage sites are counted in three different ways.
- Three to four public consultations on culture are held every year, but there is no written culture strategy.
- No information is given on how activities are distributed between Delvinë and Vergo.
- 26.7% of residents are aged 65 or over, and the population fell by 18.8% between 2011 and 2023.
10. Recommendations
Turn the yearly consultations into a culture strategy
Delvinë already consults residents on culture every year, which is a strong starting point. The Municipal Council could ask the Cultural Centre to bring together the views gathered in these consultations into a short culture strategy, linked to the municipality's priority on cultural tourism. The strategy should set out what the programme aims to achieve each year, including for young people and older residents, and what role events such as the “Traditë Shije Delvinjote” fair play. Publishing it would show residents how their views are used.
Restore the programme for young people
Activities for young people fell from 17 in 2022 to between five and seven a year since 2023. The Mayor and the Cultural Centre could review the reasons for this decline and use the next budget plan to set yearly targets for cultural events and youth activities, reporting against them each year. Because the budget has grown and staff numbers are stable, a return to earlier levels appears realistic.
Report investments and heritage clearly
The reply records investments in 2023 and 2025 but no heritage spending, and the budget plan counts heritage sites in three different ways. The municipality could name the project funded in 2025, state the unit used in its budget tables, confirm whether the Palace of Culture counts as a heritage asset, and keep a single list of heritage sites in future budget plans. These steps would make heritage spending easier to follow.
Include Vergo and update the population figure
The Cultural Centre could record where each activity takes place and plan events in the villages of Vergo as well as in the town. At the same time, the budget plan should use the population from the 2023 Census (6,166 residents) instead of the 2011 Census (7,598), so that per resident planning reflects the current population.
Seek regional and external support
Larger heritage works and promotion are likely to need partners. The municipality could seek to include its cultural sites and the August fair in the cultural tourism promotion of the Ionian Coast cluster, and explore EU programmes such as IPA and EU4Culture. A written culture strategy would be the first document such partners ask for.
About the data
Population figures come from the INSTAT 2023 Census. Budget figures are as reported by the municipality and in its medium term budget plan (PBA) for 2023 - 2025.
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.
