PRESS RELEASE
First Deputy Governor Minxhozi: Opening address at the Third Conference of the Museum of the Bank of Albania

Dear guests, scholars, museum employees, students and history enthusiasts,

I have the honour and pleasure of welcoming you, on behalf of the Bank of Albania, to the Conference on “Museums and education in the future”!

Today we open the proceedings of the Third Conference of the Museum of the Bank of Albania, an event that, thanks to your constant attention and cooperation, has become an annual event.

Since its inception, the Museum of the Bank of Albania was designed to communicate with the public on two aspects, numismatics and banking and financial education. Both aspects have been given a dedicated space within the premises of the Museum. During a tour, the visitor is offered a combination of these two aspects, which complement each other naturally. Thus, the classic museum is established as an institution that preserves or maintains a collection of artefacts and other objects with artistic, cultural, historical or scientific significance, accessed only by a selected public, whereas the modern museum is further enriched with the very significant function of educating the broader public.

Admittedly, the educational function is one and indivisible with museums, since the very aim to preserve and exhibit museum objects is driven by the desire to know more and be educated on a particular subject. But, as the museums became more popular and attended by a wider and more diverse public, their educational function assumed a higher role. Beyond exhibits and collections, museums increasingly are providing nowadays a broader landscape, familiarising visitors with the context of the exposed objects and artefacts.

On the other hand, institutions whose primary function is education, like schools and universities, rely more and more on the efforts of museums. This is a generalisation, but our statistics show increasing numbers of visits from these institutions at the Museum of the Bank of Albania - to date, approximately half of the museum's 12,000 visitors have been students under 18 years old.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The commitment of the Bank of Albania to public education for more than a decade - particularly on financial education - is a token of pride for our institution. Today, our programmes in this field are in step with similar institutions abroad, and we can say that our persistent efforts were eventually materialised in the establishment and operation of the Museum of the Bank of Albania. In addition to working on its primary functions, the Bank of Albania is by now part of the international network on education, both of money and banks’ museums, and has, therefore, the chance to exchange experiences and best practices. 

This annual Conference is also platform for discussions. We have invited colleagues from the most relevant museums of Albania of diverse typologies and fields. But, they all have a common denominator - educating the public on the respective field. In recent years, we have witnessed increasing visitor-centred activities in museums. So, thanks to technology and interactive educational methods, visitors are not anymore passive observers, but are instead involved in the themes of the exhibit. These techniques result in more effective tools to attract visitors to come to the museums and enjoy their wealth of information - so let's make the most of them!

Without further ado, I wish to invite you to follow the next three sessions, as the panellists share their experiences on the modern relation between museums and education.

Allow me to give the floor to our special guest, Dr Dorian Koçi, Director of the National Museum of History, who will introduce us to the cultural education in the largest museum in Albania.

Thank you!