The southern city of Gjirokastër was host to Impact Week Albania 2023, marking the first time we hosted an Impact Week in continental Europe. The UNESCO World Heritage site is proud of its authentic rural lifestyle that includes century-old culinary traditions and rich ethnographic diversity.

Beyond the surface, however, the region confronts numerous challenges in the tourism sector due to high unemployment rates and a growing trend of Albanian youth migrating to neighboring European countries.

The team led by Mara Schöndorfer, Janina Steigerwald, Muktha Hiremath, and Sydney Jones, in collaboration with Visit Gjirokastra and the University of Gjirokastra, created a meaningful event intending to innovate on pressing pain points of the region: education, entrepreneurship, employment and quality of life. For this part of Albania, creating more possibilities for start-ups, sparking new ideas, motivation, positive energy, and enhancing trust in the region is a way to keep youth in the country and create positive change for Albania in the long run.

In just one short week, the team not only harnessed the attention of 65 participants but also the city council and local media, enticing the curiosity of even the most skeptic in the community. With the support of amazing partners including the University of Gjirokastra, AS+P, Lufthansa Industry Solutions, the City of Gjirokastra, and Lufthansa Technik, the event was made possible. We kindly thank everyone involved!