Network Strengthening through the Universities

Abstract

The bureaucratic delays described in chapter 6 made things difficult for us but we did not give up. We felt proud of what we have achieved, and we were committed to our vision. We were held up for a while, but we were determined to sail forward and take our ship to its destination. As far as we were concerned, the democratization of Albania was inevitable and could not be stopped. Convinced that the teacher training would eventually take place, we begun looking for ways to go beyond that point. Just establishing the network was not enough. We had to find a way to sustain and nourish the network, as well as guide it in its work. Our initial plan was to turn the network over to the Ministry of Education and terminate the project. However, we were convinced that the Ministry of Education was too busy to assume another responsibility of enormous proportions. The demands of a highly centralized educational system would have made it impossible for the Ministry of Education to give democratization the attention it deserved. On the other hand, we felt strongly that we should stay within the educational system. After all, we were trying to bring about change through the younger generation now in school. Could the universities step in and assume a leading role in sustaining and advancing the democratization movement?