1. Albaina KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY – KNOW YOUR WORLD

2. INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER PROFILEINTERNATIONAL SPEAKER PROFILE

3. ALBANIA Bordering the countries of Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Montenegro Borders the Adriatic Sea

4. CAPITAL AND SIGNIFICANT CITIESCAPITAL AND SIGNIFICANT CITIES The capital is Tirana and has a population 374,801. Durrës is one of Albania's oldest cities, the country's main seaport and the second largest industrial center. It handles about 90 percent of Albania's international-maritime traffic. Has a population of 122,034. Elbasan has the 3 rd highest population of 100,903 and is located on the Shkumbin River.

5. COUNTRY QUICK FACTS Full name: The Republic of Albania Population: 3.2 million (UN, 2012) Capital: Tirana Major language: Albanian Major religions: Islam, Christianity Life expectancy: 74 years (men), 80 years (women) (UN) Monetary unit: 1 lek = 100 qindars Main exports: Chromium and chrome products, processed foodstuffs GNI per capita: US $3,980 (World Bank, 2011)

6. POPULATION Albania has a population of 3.2 million, has a population rank of 131 which totals 4% of the population. Average life expectancy is 77.7 years. Total fertility rate is 1.49 children born to each woman which ranks 190th out of all countries.

7. LANDFORMS OR HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS LANDFORMS OR HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

9. LANGUAGE: Hello: Bye: YES: NO: THANK YOU: YOU’RE WELCOME: PLEASE: I LOVE YOU: HOW ARE YOU:

10. Government President: Bujar Nishani Mr Nishani is a former interior minister Bujar Nishani was elected president by parliament in June 2012, replacing Bamir Topi when his mandate came to an end. The main opposition Socialist Party boycotted the vote, and Mr Nishani was the only candidate put forward by the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Sali Berisha's Democratic Party. Albania had been mired in political crisis for three years since the Socialists accused the Democrats of electoral fraud after the June 2009 legislative polls, and the failure to agree a consensus presidential candidate marked a setback for European Union efforts to ease political tensions. Government and opposition leaders traded accusations of sabotage throughout the process, which went through several rounds.

11. RECENT HISTORY AND EVENTSRECENT HISTORY AND EVENTS In 1992 communist rule ended and in 2013 socialist Edi Rama was elected as Prime Minister. Is one of the poorest countries in the world, and transportation and infrastructure are very poor, and getting electricity can be extremely difficult. The economy is dominated by agriculture and tourism. In February of 2011 Parliament stripped former economy minister Dritan Prifti of his immunity from prosecution over corruption allegations. In November 2010 the European Union rejected Albania's request for EU candidate status

12. ENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESSENVIRONMENT OF BUSINESS GDP is $26.1 billion and had a 1.3% growth from last year. GNI per capita is $4,090 (US $). Most recent rate of inflation is 2 %. Unemployment is 15%

13. CURRENCY AND WAGESCURRENCY AND WAGES Their currency is the Albanian Lek. 1 USD=101.374 ALL (LEK) Accessed 4/11/2014 The average monthly wage in Albania is 35,000 Leks (roughly $350 US Dollars.)

14. EVERYDAY LIVINGEVERYDAY LIVING Day in the life of a child/student in your country

15. GENDER- ROLE OF GIRLS / BOYS – MEN/WOMEN

16. TRADITIONAL COSTUMESTRADITIONAL COSTUMES

17. NATIONAL FESTIVALS-HOLIDAYS EVENTS

18. MARRIAGE

19. SPORTS

20. FOOD

21. TRADITIONAL DANCETRADITIONAL DANCE

22. LINKS The press Several Albanian papers are available online ShekulliShekulli - private daily Gazeta ShqiptareGazeta Shqiptare - private daily PanoramaPanorama - private daily Rilindja DemokratikeRilindja Demokratike - Democratic Party daily Koha DitoreKoha Ditore - private daily Zeri i PopullitZeri i Popullit - Socialist Party daily Koha JoneKoha Jone - private daily Albanian Daily NewsAlbanian Daily News - English-language news site Tirana TimesTirana Times - English-language weekly Television Albanian Radio and TV (RTSh)Albanian Radio and TV (RTSh) - public, operates two networks Top ChannelTop Channel - private TV KlanTV Klan - private DigitAlbDigitAlb - pay TV Radio Albanian Radio and TV (RTSh)Albanian Radio and TV (RTSh) - public broadcaster Top Albania RadioTop Albania Radio - national, private +2 Radio+2 Radio - national, private Wikipedia: http://idalbania.blo gspot.com/2010/03/dita-e- veres.htmlhttp://idalbania.blo gspot.com/2010/03/dita-e- veres.html Christmas: http://www.theholi dayspot.com/christmas/worldx mas/albania.htmhttp://www.theholi dayspot.com/christmas/worldx mas/albania.htm Independence Day: http://aglobalworld.com/ holidays-around-the- world/albania-independence- day/http://aglobalworld.com/ holidays-around-the- world/albania-independence- day/ Liberation Day: http://aglobalworld.com/ holidays-around-the- world/liberation-day-albania/http://aglobalworld.com/ holidays-around-the- world/liberation-day-albania/

23. What have you learned that was most surprising or interesting ?