United Nations Association Albania (UNAA) is a Civil Society Organization dedicated to informing, inspiring, and mobilizing the Albanian youth and people in general, to support and promote the values and activities of the United Nations.
UNAA was founded on October 24th 2016, on the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. On this day, a diverse group of young Albanians passionate about youth engagement and the United Nations, decided to join their endeavors to create and foster a UN community in their country. Hence, UNAA firstly began as a UN Youth Association, having as its main mission, bringing young people closer to the UN and the UN closer to the youth.
UNAA and its youth chapter have shared human resources and have jointly organized activities. Officially, UNAA was established in 2018 as a result of the continuous growth of the organization in terms of capacities, expertise, and funding. Due to its background, UNAA’s youth chapter has been incorporated into the association and operates as an autonomous entity coordinated by the founding officers.
Throughout its functioning, UNAA has designed and implemented in numerous projects, including: “Building Partnership for Youth, Peace and Security”; MUN Albania Initiative; Coffee Talks Series; UN75 Anniversary Initiative, Albanian UN Youth Delegate Programme; and most recently, “UNYA Albania – Upgrading Youth Skills for Sustainable Action” Project, funded by the European Endowment for Democracy and “Gen Z for Sustainability” funded by Heinrich böll Stiftung Tirana.
Through activities, such as seminars, webinars, roundtables workshops, conferences, publications, and simulations of the international decision-making bodies, UNAA aims at promoting multilateralism, structured dialogue at the national, regional and international levels, help understand and locally act upon the Sustainable Development Goals, and serve as a tool for non-formal education fostering the spirit of cooperation and volunteerism.
UNAA has built channels of cooperation with UN Associations and UN Youth Associations in various countries and is a member association of the World Federation of United Nations Association (WFUNA).
