Albania

The National Youth Strategy 2022-2029 (SKR) aims to "increase and improve opportunities, services and support for young people and in cooperation with young people in Albania." The strategy has three main policy goals, which are then accompanied by more specific targets:

1. Young women and young people actively participate in society and feel empowered to express themselves with their voice. Intersectoral youth policies are coordinated, based on analysis, with well-funded mechanisms.
2. Youth innovation is supported and encouraged and the skills and professionalism of young people are increased through quality education in ICT and other areas of digital development, thus increasing and improving opportunities to enter the labour market.
3. Youth are active, social, and physically and mentally healthy. Youth are secure and protected. All young people are included in all their diversity, especially for those young people who are in a situation of risk or social exclusion (vulnerability).

Before 2021, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth was the primary authority responsible for youth, with a dedicated Deputy Minister for Youth and a Directorate of Youth. However, Decision No. 524 of the Council of Ministers, dated 22 September 2021, created the Minister of State for Youth and Children (MSHRF). While the Ministry of Education and Sports (MAS) still plays an important role in youth policies because of its areas of responsibility, the MSHRF is now the primary authority responsible for youth. TheMSHRF aims to protect the rights of young people and guarantee their participation in social life by creating and implementing youth policies and by strengthening the involvement of young people in decision making processes.

According to Law No. 75/2019 For Youth, "The National Youth Council is an advisory body that functions under the minister responsible for youth." It is chaired by the minister responsible for youth and has 14 to 16 members, of which at least half must represent youth and/or youth organisations. The National Youth Council is responsible for:

• Presenting priority areas for youth policies, budgets and activities;
• Proposing the main directions and programmes for supporting and strengthening youth participation;
• Giving opinions on the drafting of the National Youth Strategy, monitoring its implementation, and approving the annual report.

No current online presence of the National Youth Council can be found. However, a National Youth Congress (KRK) exists, which is currently a candidate member for the European Youth Forum under the National Youth Council category. The KRK is not a public body and does not resemble the administrative structure of the National Youth Council outlined in Decision No. 969/2020.

According to Law No. 75/2019 For the Youth,

"Youth work is any activity of a social, cultural, educational, environmental nature by, with or for young people, in groups or individually, that aims to motivate and support young people, contributing to their personal and social development and in the development of society in general."

One goal of the National Youth Strategy 2022-2029 (SKR) is to recognise informal learning; competences acquired through non-formal education; and youth work, on the basis of definitions of the youth work profession through the National Qualifications Framework, and in coordination with the European Youth Work Portfolio. Another objective of the SKR is to revise the youth law to further develop the processes of creating youth organisations, youth representation, and youth work.

Despite the creation of the Minister of State for Youth and Children (MSHRF) in 2021, the Report on the Draft of the 2023 Budget does not include a budget allocation to the MSHRF. Instead, the report mentions the "Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth" as a whole, which is allocated ALL 17.6 billion (USD 18.5 million). Nevertheless, it is unclear if this budget also pertains to youth.

Additionally, the National Youth Strategy 2022-2029 (SKR) provides its own budget of ALL 5.6 billion (USD 50.1 million) over eight years. Each specific policy objective of the strategy has its own detailed budget, of which part is state funded and part is funded by donors.