Welcome
YOUNG CELLS
Capacity building for civil servants of the public administration, including internships in EU members state administrations.
Capacity building for civil servants of the public administration, including internships in EU members state administrations.
One of the key challenges faced by Albania is the enhancement of the capacity of the civil servants involved in the EU integration process. Continuous improvement of the administrative framework and good management practices for implementation and coordination of the integration process are adequate responses. The Action will thus address the needs and priorities of the government of Albania, notably those related to EU integration, policy coordination and support to decision-making.
In the light of all these elements, the overall objective of the Action is to contribute to the sustainable development of a professional, efficient, and transparent public administration in Albania, through the development and implementation of a traineeship programme dedicated to young Albanian civil servants.
The Action will improve the professional capacity and expertise of a batch of 25 civil servants in key sectors of the Albanian public administration, by providing them with the opportunity to undertake practical training, mentoring sessions, study visits and internships in EU Member States schools and public administrations. The practical knowledge and skills that these civil servants will gather will enable them to contribute fully to the Albanian Government’s endeavour to meet the obligations and challenges arising from the EU Integration Process.
The project also aims to develop sustainable mechanisms supporting the career development of the skilled young civil servants, hence enabling them to give a meaningful contribution to key reforms and making them agents of change for a more efficient and innovative Albanian public administration. The Action thus intends to support the Albanian government in making the best use of the enhanced capability that the trainees represent. Also identified is the encouragement of networking and esprit de corps among alumni of the programme, to promote sustainable peer-to-peer experience sharing within the civil service. Finally, information on PAR and EU integration will be shared through visibility events and networking activities.
YCA communication event, hold on 17th May 2023 in the presence of the Minister of State, Milva Ekonomi, the Head of the EU Delegation, Christiane Hohmann, and the French Ambassador, Elisabeth Barsacq.
The event was largely covered by national and regional media:
Hohmann: Reforming public administration is a condition for Albania's EU integration
As reported by electronic media, the European Union in Albania launched a new project on raising capacities for civil servants, where 25 employees of the public administration will participate. The Ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Tirana, Christiane Hohmann, emphasized in her remarks at the kick-off event the importance of reforming the public administration as one of the conditions for the integration of Albania into the European Union. Furthermore, she pointed out that EU has funded several programs to support the public administration in Albania. She pointed out that Albania must continue to guarantee independence, integrity but also the proper recruitment process in the public sector, based on skills, knowledge and nothing else, thus establishing a transparent public service with integrity. Hohmann emphasized that the roadmap for the reform in public administration is a prerequisite to start the negotiations in the chapters. She encouraged everyone to participate in this program and she noted that 70% of the EU legislation will be implemented by local authorities so all levels of administration must be reached and trained. (shqiptarja.com, tvklan.al, ata.gov.al, top-channel.tv, telegrafi.com, liberale.al, gazetadita.al, sot.com.al, abcnews.al, boldnews.al, 5pyetjet.al).
Jointly with the Department of Public Administration, the Young Cells Albania project experts are currently working to set the selection criteria and the rules of competitive examination process for applicants to be part of Young Cells Albania scheme programme. For a transparent, merit-based and inclusive process, experts held meetings with Albanian stakeholders from DoPA, Commissioner of the Oversight of Civil Service, the Municipality of Tirana and some #YoungCellsAlbania Alumni (2018). The call for applicants with the selection criteria will be launched on 18th April 2023.
By mid-July 2023, 25 civil servants will be selected for the Young Cells programme, which consists in some language courses, an online summer school, tailor-made trainings in Albania, study visits in France, Germany and Italy (September-December 2023); and a 10-week-long internship in an EU MS institutions or public administrations (January-February 2024).
During March 2023, in the framework of the project “Young Cells Albania” the experts of the project conducted a series of meetings with Albanian stakeholders on assessing the training needs among the Albanian administration and of key areas based on the strategic priorities of the Government. The meetings were held with Director of the Department of Public Administration of Albania, acting Director of ASPA , Director of the PAR Program, Adviser to the Director, with Commissioner for Information and Data Protection. The next step during April will be the definition of the selection criteria and the rules of the competitive examination process, ensuring fair geographical, ethnic and gender representation for 25 Albanian young cells civil servants.
Meeting with stakeholders on assessing of training needs among the Albanian administration. At the Commissioner for Information and Data Protection with the Commissioner.