CRCA / ECPAT Albania

The Child Rights Centre of Albania (CRCA/ECPAT Albania) is a non-governmental, non-political, non-religious and non-profit organisation with headquarters in the capital city, Tirana. CRCA motivation is defined on the dictum: “Working together all of us can bring a prosperous world to children and young people!” CRCA is a major child and youth rights organisation established in Tirana since 1997. During more than 22 years of work we have established ourselves as one of the major watchdogs and partners of the Albanian government (at national and local level) in terms of influencing policy and legislation, strengthening the capacities of the Governmental staff to work with children, and pressure the Government to respect and improve children’s rights in the country. We want to make human rights enjoyable by every child, despite her / his status. Our core values and principles are shared by many other organisations and individuals, who support our work. CRCA is one of the major organisations of civil society in Albania. We believe that civil society holds a special place between the society and the government and thus our role has been to advocate for the respect of human rights of children and women, minorities and protection of the environment. Our role is not focused only in Albania. We believe in a globalised world, where people with the right tools and means can affect the outcome of Governmental policies. For this reason, we have become members of international networks such as ECPAT International, Eurochild, etc. At the same time, we have established close cooperation with many organisations in Europe. CRCA lobbies, advocates and speaks on behalf of children and young people. Child and youth participation is one of our core values. We want to see more children and young people being involved in the decision-making process, not only within CRCA, but especially at the level of national and local Government. As a major child and youth rights organisation in Albania, our role is to advocate and promote the respect of children and youth rights. We engage in lobby and advocacy to influence legislation and policies of the Government through a process that provides the necessary tools for young people to have their say in what is good for them and what they expect the Government and society to do on their behalf. Advancement of children and youth rights is one of the major core activities of the organisation. Although a lot has been done to improve the respect of children and guarantee their rights in public institutions, family and society at large, still children face difficulties to be accepted by society as the bearer of individual rights. Capacity building, information, and education constitute major parts of CRCA Albania work. We believe that through training and information we can bring the people to recognise, respect and work to advance human rights. Since 2005 we have increased our work in support of most vulnerable groups of society and those seeking to participate in the democratic changes in the country. A special focus has been given to girls and women advancement in political processes, support of the LGBT movement in the country, joining actions in support of organisations working on the rights of disabled people etc. Research is a strong element of CRCA work. During many years of work we have become one of the major research centers in the country concerning children and young people’s rights. Since our establishment we have establishing and providing society with successful models of services. Good social services are expensive and every organisation needs a good degree of strength, capacities and standards to run them. We promote the approval of laws, policies and procedures for the establishment and running of child-friendly services and continuous monitoring of quality of services. We will continue to work to establish child and youth-friendly social services that Albania lacks. Organisation of CRCA and its Boards CRCA has a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has as a main priority to set new strategies and priorities for CRCA, approve its yearly reports etc. Since 2006 CRCA has established a Branch in Kosovo. CRCA is a major partner of the Albanian Government and many other national and international organisations. CRCA has been assisting and has been highly evaluated by the Albanian Government for its contribution to the National Governmental Strategy for Children in Albania, National Strategy Against Child Trafficking in Albania, and National Strategy for Youth in Albania etc. CRCA has been providing a wide range of training courses for the Albanian Government, ILO-Turin, Kosovo Government, Save the Children Alliance (Kosovo), Save the Children Denmark (Albania and Kosovo), and World Vision (Kosovo), SEECRAN etc. CRCA/ECPAT Albania is a member of ECPAT International through the Albanian Coalition against Child Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children (ACTSEC) and Eurochild a major European child rights network. CRCA/ECPAT Albania is the only Albanian organisation that has been granted the Special Consultative Status with the United Nations ECOSOC, as of 2011.