In Albania, children are the greatest value for the people. Taking this into account, the local government of Tirana considers the importance of future generations as a priority issue. First of all, they have changed the narrative of the city administration. Usually, in politics, they always worry about the next election. So they could take the conversation to the next level – how do we worry about the next generation, rather than just the next election? They have a children’s local council, they have daily open hours where different classes come to the city to see the mayor or one of our directors, they have high-schoolers who once a month take over the city administration – one becomes mayor, others directors of this and that. This is fantastic because every month up to 150 kids become senior managers. Any of them who leaves city hall after spending the day as a city official goes back to the classroom and becomes an evangelist for how the city is run. Once the administration started giving children – a third of our population – a third of our time, a third of our effort, a third of the decision-making and thinking, then it really changed the city. What was seen with suspicion from a lot of the political elites has become a fascinating social experiment.
