AFA "Rugova" – Peja

It was a pleasure to have Christopher Tushaj, the scholar of Albanian literature and the creator of the “Zânat Arbënore” association, and Vesel Nikçi, the regional president of the ‘Rugova’ Artistic Association, at school.
Christopher is an independent scholar with Fulbright, a program administered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) that seeks a broadened perspective through academic and professional advancement and intercultural dialogue.

Christopher wants, through his studies together with the activities of the "Zânat Arbënore" association, to expand his research focus on the Kreshnik Epic and the epic tradition as a platform to create a bridge for the purpose of cultural exchange between the Albanian people of Kosovo, Albania and the American-Western world.

Christopher held a conversation with students at the “Bedri Pejani” school, about the culture and tradition of the Albanian epic. Christopher explained and discussed with the students the values ​​of cultural heritage in relation to the epic tradition and its importance, the potential that a work of art such as the Epic has, to reinforce key positive values ​​such as hope, self-confidence, dedication, taking example from the character of the characters of our national literature, and how this can be the cause of a spark that brings deeper knowledge of our people, as well as major personal and social changes in our country.

We await, with great pleasure, his gifts to the students, copies of the book titled "Hiawatha", from American literature, by the author Henry Longfellow, who, as well as in this epic work, wrote the famous poem about our national legend 'Scanderbeg', which is very close to the style of a fundamental work of our literature, "The Malchis' Lute" by Gjergj Fishta. 

This book, the author, and his other literary works are a concrete (American) example of how an epic tradition holds the potential to make changes in a society.

We remain fully confident that this meeting is but the beginning of further cooperation and cultural exchange in the future, which will foster new ideas and translate into multifaceted development to fulfill the main common goal of his association and to assist the necessary collective Albanian cause for the recognition of our history, country and people.