Columbia University Albanian Society

Happy to announce that we will be hosting a virtual discussion with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, H.E. Albin Kurti, scheduled for Friday, October 13, at 9:30 a.m. (ET), 3:30 p.m. (CET).

Complete the RSVP form to receive the live stream link on the day of the event: https://forms.gle/aiFTRA9STLHgWMYq5

Join us this upcoming Friday for an insightful conversation with Jess L. Baily, the former United States Ambassador to North Macedonia, as we delve into his diplomatic experience during the period of 2014-2019. In particular, the discussion will focus on the role of youth in Western Balkans Six in shaping the journey to Euro-Atlantic structures and the European Union. Ambassador Baily's unique perspective and expertise promise to shed light on this important and timely topic.

Join us this Wednesday in our conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo, Ms. Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz. We will have a discussion on the recent developments in Kosovo and the region overall, as well as the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine in the Western Balkans.

This event is organized in co-sponsorship with the Columbia European Society and Kosovo’s Consulate General in New York.

Use the link to RSVP and please read the instructions carefully: https://forms.gle/knNKQQyyS6Un9owy7

Open call for submissions!

Columbia University Albanian Society is organizing a museum-like art exhibition on April 14, from 6:00 P.M. to 10:00 P.M., at Lerner Hall Broadway Room. We will accept all sorts of family or personal artifacts, such as objects, photos, books, clothes, documents, multimedia, and so on; left to us from the distant days of the regimes in Albania and Former Yugoslavia.

The exhibition is an embedded account, a nested narrative, a story within a story that we have as a legacy waiting to be told. Our ancestors had something to share while we were growing up: their stories, memories, and perceptions, and we filed them in our minds and aim to mirror them through this perspective-based exhibition.

Please fill out the form to make a submission: https://forms.gle/cvwE8hCvhyUy41qL6

“A Rhapsody of Women.”

Join us on the 25th of February, 12:00 P.M., Eastern Time in our third and last virtual event of the month: a discussion with artist and singer Fatime Kosumi, known as ANDRRA.

Daughter of Albanian immigrants in Germany, ANDRRA has displayed a new artistic identity to the music in Kosova and Albania throughout the post-war decades. Through a collection and discovery of folklore lyrics in the rhapsodies sung by Albanian women in Kosova, especially those of wedding rituals, ANDRRA’s work culminated in her album “Palinë,” including songs such as “Palinë” or “Kalle Llamën,” that addressed the issue of child marriage through the Albanian-speaking lands.

We will be discussing such and related themes with ANDRRA, the challenges imposed, and what place they hold in the contemporary discourse.

We hope to see you there!

“We ask a Historian.”

On Wednesday, the 8th of February, 12:00 P.M eastern time, we will be hosting a Zoom discussion with Sir Noel Malcolm.

A renowned historian, professor at Oxford University and a King’s Scholar, Sir Malcolm is known for his book “Kosovo: A Short History,” originally published in 1998. His work and life contribution have had an extensive impact in the modern discourse and debates concerning the historiography of the Albanians.

Additionally, Malcolm’s interest in our history and people has been demonstrated through various articles and books such as “Rebels, Believers, Survivors: Studies in the History of the Albanians,” and “Agents of Empire: Knights, Corsairs, Jesuits and Spies in the Sixteenth Century Mediterranean World,” making him one of the leading Albanologists today.

We will be engaging into an intellectual debate and discussion about the challenges of writing about the history of the Albanians and Kosova overall, and the ongoing discussions that his work has created within the academia.

Mark the date!

Together with the Yale Albanian Society, Harvard Albanians, and Penn Albanian Society, we are organizing a party to celebrate the anniversary of Kosovo’s Independence, hosted at Yale University, New Haven. We will be providing food, drinks, and music. Transportation will not be provided. This event is open to all Albanian-led college clubs and students in the U.S.

Please fill out this form to confirm your participation!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18YV8BG7_TmtDWbAYf-fPhUBQdOlkiRGqGzRxU3rTF-8/edit?fbclid=PAAaZu90A_NNWcY6We2twvzoQa8Or-5UaP3MbnrtkEOsrc7Y9WvxKJzpjXhC4

Thank you everybody for joining us last night! More events are coming🇦🇱

Happy Independence Day to our fellow Albanians 🇦🇱

In the “Rare Book and Manuscript Library,” on the 6th floor of Butler, you will find a book named “George Castriot, Surnamed Scanderbeg, King of Albania.” Written by Clement C. Moore in 1850, a former student of Columbia, the book is a biography of our national hero.

Less than a century later, Columbia would become the first university in the U.S. to teach Albanian, with professor Nelo Drizari and then Stavro Skendi as instructors. Drizari’s books, such as “Spoken and Written Albanian,” or “Skanderbeg, his life, correspondence, orations, victories, and philosophy,” can be found at the Butler stacks.

Alongside these works, you can find books such as “George Kastrioti Scanderbeg” by Fan Noli, “The Struggle for Scutari,” or “The Burden of the Balkans” by Edith Durham, or “Journals of a Landscape Painter in Albania” by Edward Lear.

Moreover, there are several books or graphic collections written in Albanian, such as “Gjenerali i Ushtrise se Vdekur” by Ismail Kadare, “Deshtaku” by Dritero Agolli, “Karikatura ne Gazeten Dielli” by Faik Konica, and so on.

Our libraries hold hundreds of paperback books and collections about Albania and Albanians, whether in English, Albanian, or other languages.

Enjoy today’s celebrations ❤️🖤

Book your Calendars! Look forward to seeing you all. 🎉 🇦🇱

Bring your favorite board games if you please! Snacks and drinks will be provided 🍱 🍲 🥤

We hope to see you there! 🇦🇱

Meet our team

Meet our team

Meet our team

Join us this Sunday to enjoy Elina Duni’s concert with Rob Luft. For tickets please visit the link https://donyc.com/events/2022/4/24/elina-duni-rob-luft-tickets

Tommorow from 12:30-1:30pm!

World Leaders Forum: President Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu of the Republic of Kosovo | The Harriman Institute Columbia University students are invited to participate in a moderated question and answer session following the discussion (register for more info). For the general public, this event will also be livestreamed on the World Leaders Forum website.