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Culture in Kamëz for everyone, or just for the mayor's favorites?

2026-08-11 20:14:38Fokus SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Kamza is perhaps one of the clearest examples of post-90s mixed Albania. It is home to families from Dibra, Kukes, Mirdita, Shkodra, Central Albania, the south and almost every other corner of the country.

For this very reason, even the culture that is financed by the municipality should belong to everyone.

But it is enough to see some of the activities, concerts and festivals organized in recent years under the banner of the Kamëz Municipality to raise a question: are all the city's communities really being represented, or is the cultural program increasingly leaning towards the preferences of Mayor Rakip Suli?

In the activities promoted under the slogan "Bashkime Kamëz", Dibra tradition and music seem to have taken up considerable space.

There is nothing wrong with this. On the contrary. Dibra has a rich cultural, musical and folkloric heritage that deserves to be promoted.

But Kamza is not Debar.

And this is exactly where the discussion begins.

When a municipality organizes activities with citizens' money, the stage cannot represent only a part of them. Thousands of residents originating from other areas of the north, from Central Albania and from the south live in Kamëz. They also vote in Kamëz, pay taxes in Kamëz and their children are growing up in Kamëz.

So where is their culture?

How often do artists, folk groups, or traditions representing these communities appear in the municipality's programs?

This is a question that the Kamëz Municipality should clarify with facts and not with slogans.

Who decides the cultural program?

Another question is related to the Palace of Culture in Kamëz and the way the city's artistic calendar is built.

Who decides which artist gets invited and which doesn't?

Who determines which regions will be represented in municipal activities?

What are the criteria for leaders of cultural institutions and how much freedom do they have to build a program independent of the mayor's political preferences?

These are not unimportant questions, especially when it comes to institutions and activities that are paid for from the public budget.

In the absence of transparency over contracts, funds, selected artists, and the criteria on which the cultural program is built, it is normal for suspicions of regional favoritism to arise.

And if the perception is wrong, the Kamëz Municipality has a very simple way to disprove it: make the figures public.

How much money was spent on cultural activities?

Which artists have been contracted?

Who proposed them?

How much were they paid?

And above all: what representation have the different communities living in Kamëz had?

Not "racism", but a problem that requires an answer.

It would be excessive to automatically label this issue as “racism.” Much stronger evidence is needed for such an accusation.

But that doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist.

If a public institution consistently favors a certain region, group, or circle of people, while others remain on the periphery, then we have the right to speak of favoritism, cultural clientelism, or exclusion from public representation.

And these are serious enough even without other labels being applied.

Rakip Suli should publicly clarify whether there is a cultural strategy for representing the different communities of Kamza or whether programs are built on a case-by-case basis, according to the preferences of the municipality's leaders.

Because Kamza is not the cultural property of the next mayor.

Neither does Dibra.

Nor the north.

Neither does the south.

Kamza belongs to the people who live there.

And if the slogan is "Unity in the Kamëz", then this unity should also be seen on stage.

Not just on the banner.

©Copyright Vox News

This article is exclusive to Vox News, and is copyrighted under Law No. 35/2016, "On Copyright and Related Rights". The article may be republished by other media only by citing Vox News and including a link to the source at the end, otherwise any violator will be held liable under Article 178 of Law No. 35/2016.


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