The President of Albania, Bajram Begaj, participated this Wednesday in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo.
President Begaj honored Albanian scholars and academics—those no longer with us and those who, through sacrifice, preserved the ideal and resilience needed to pave the way for knowledge.
“Today we celebrate a half-century journey of knowledge, sacrifice, and intellectual, civic, and national dedication. We celebrate the life of an institution born in difficult circumstances, yet one that rose to the level of its sister institutions in developed nations,” President Begaj stated at this jubilee anniversary of the Kosovo Academy.
Albania, President Begaj said, has always stood by Kosovo’s intellectual elite in difficult moments, while also emphasizing the unique opportunity Albanians have today to move forward.
“After many decades of effort and sacrifice, and thanks to the invaluable support of the United States of America and our European partners, Albanians today live in an unprecedented moment: we have two Albanian states and two national academies of science serving one nation. It is the first time in our history that Albanian scholarship can develop without obstacles—freely and in cooperation.
This gives us not only confidence but also strength to move forward and rise as a nation through knowledge, creativity, and spirit. The past has taught us the value of knowledge. The future asks us to transform that knowledge into a driving force for the development of our society,” Begaj said.
President Begaj praised the achievements of the Kosovo Academy, its academic partnerships with research centers in the EU and the US, and its dignified representation of Kosovo in the international arena, making it part of the global community of knowledge. He also highlighted the contribution of the Diaspora to the Academy’s internationalization efforts.
“To reach these levels, Kosovo’s academics have worked with sublime patriotism. They have operated under difficult conditions, censorship, and a lack of even the most basic scientific resources,” he emphasized.
In closing, President Begaj delivered a special message to the new generation of Albanian researchers:
“The younger generation now carries an even greater responsibility: to become the generation that advances the ideal of knowledge. They must demand more, study deeper, avoid the easy path, and find the strength to dedicate themselves to knowledge with seriousness, curiosity, and spirit. The future of our nation will be built by those who believe that knowledge is the most powerful tool of development,” President Begaj declared at the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts.