MJAFT!
Encyclopedia
MJAFT! is a non governmental organisation in Albania
that aims to raise awareness of the many political and social problems facing Albania. MJAFT! grew out of a grassroots
effort by students and other volunteers. The organisation is partly funded by the U.S. government.
The Mjaft! Movement, which was born out of a four-month awareness-raising campaign that targeted the key issues stunting Albania’s socio-political and economic growth, has set a new standard for Albania’s civil society sector. The Mjaft! Movement’s primary vision is to achieve a well-governed Albania with active citizens, strong communities and a positive image in the world.
The Mjaft! Movement deemed it necessary to develop and abide by a set of essential values in order to achieve its vision. Mjaft’s core principles are: democracy, active citizenship, the attainability of change, strong communities, equal opportunities, solidarity, volunteerism, and the irrefutable power of debate. A good democracy, proper governance and a prosperous society can only be constructed if tangible civic demand and participation is achieved. Thus, Mjaft!’s mission is to increase active citizenship, strengthen the sense of community, promote responsible governance and improve the image of Albania globally through: (i) encouraging citizen participation in decision-making by influencing and monitoring policies at both the local and national level; (ii) promoting volunteerism and improving cooperation within communities; rehabilitating the concept of protest. MJAFT! is a partner in Projekti rinor qytetar
, a civic project in Albania designed to help young people take a greater interest in their community and the environment
.
The Movement has empowered communities nationwide and has stimulated public demand for the improvement of basic living conditions. Many observers agree that Mjaft has helped improve Albania’s image abroad and set new standards in regards to the ‘modus operandi’ of civil society groups and organizations. Given its physiology, the Mjaft! Movement enjoys a certain flexibility that allows it to focus on the concrete issues at hand – i.e., elections, environmental problems, energy crises – whilst consistently applying and furthering its primary philosophy of combating civic apathy and promoting citizen participation. Currently, Mjaft! is Albania’s largest movement, with over 8,000 members, more than 1,000 volunteers, and branches in 18 cities country-wide that both serve as local government ‘watchdogs’ and employ civic lobbying to advocate for changes on the local level.
Mjaft! was awarded the annual United Nations Vienna Civil Society Award in 2004.
The major issues that MJAFT! is currently trying to address include:
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
that aims to raise awareness of the many political and social problems facing Albania. MJAFT! grew out of a grassroots
Grassroots democracy
Grassroots democracy is a tendency towards designing political processes where as much decision-making authority as practical is shifted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization: principle of subsidiarity....
effort by students and other volunteers. The organisation is partly funded by the U.S. government.
The Mjaft! Movement, which was born out of a four-month awareness-raising campaign that targeted the key issues stunting Albania’s socio-political and economic growth, has set a new standard for Albania’s civil society sector. The Mjaft! Movement’s primary vision is to achieve a well-governed Albania with active citizens, strong communities and a positive image in the world.
The Mjaft! Movement deemed it necessary to develop and abide by a set of essential values in order to achieve its vision. Mjaft’s core principles are: democracy, active citizenship, the attainability of change, strong communities, equal opportunities, solidarity, volunteerism, and the irrefutable power of debate. A good democracy, proper governance and a prosperous society can only be constructed if tangible civic demand and participation is achieved. Thus, Mjaft!’s mission is to increase active citizenship, strengthen the sense of community, promote responsible governance and improve the image of Albania globally through: (i) encouraging citizen participation in decision-making by influencing and monitoring policies at both the local and national level; (ii) promoting volunteerism and improving cooperation within communities; rehabilitating the concept of protest. MJAFT! is a partner in Projekti rinor qytetar
Projekti rinor qytetar
Projekti Rinor Qytetar is a civic project in Albania designed to help young people take a greater interest in their community and the environment.-Aims:...
, a civic project in Albania designed to help young people take a greater interest in their community and the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
.
The Movement has empowered communities nationwide and has stimulated public demand for the improvement of basic living conditions. Many observers agree that Mjaft has helped improve Albania’s image abroad and set new standards in regards to the ‘modus operandi’ of civil society groups and organizations. Given its physiology, the Mjaft! Movement enjoys a certain flexibility that allows it to focus on the concrete issues at hand – i.e., elections, environmental problems, energy crises – whilst consistently applying and furthering its primary philosophy of combating civic apathy and promoting citizen participation. Currently, Mjaft! is Albania’s largest movement, with over 8,000 members, more than 1,000 volunteers, and branches in 18 cities country-wide that both serve as local government ‘watchdogs’ and employ civic lobbying to advocate for changes on the local level.
Mjaft! was awarded the annual United Nations Vienna Civil Society Award in 2004.
The major issues that MJAFT! is currently trying to address include:
- Suffering Health and Education Services
- Blood Feuds
- Trafficking and Organized Crime
- Poverty and Unemployment
- Discrimination Against Women and Disadvantaged Groups
- Widening Gap in Irresponsive Politics and Political Corruption
- Environmental Degradation
- Lack of Progress in EU Integration
See also
- Politics of AlbaniaPolitics of AlbaniaPolitics of Albania takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament, the Assembly of the Republic of Albania...
- List of political parties in Albania
- Color RevolutionColor revolutionColour revolutions is a term that was widely used by the media to describe related movements that developed in several societies in the CIS and Balkan states during the early 2000s. The term has also been applied to a number of revolutions elsewhere, including in the Middle East...
- Lëvizja ZgjohuLëvizja ZgjohuLëvizja Zgjohu is an Albanian NGO denouncing political points in mainly Albania. The got under great media attention with the 2011 Albanian opposition demonstrations when the published a video on the Albanian TV where Edi Rama one day before the demonstrations denounced that there will be dead...
External links
- Official site (in AlbanianAlbanian languageAlbanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
and EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
) - NPR Story on Mjaft!