FORUM TRAMONTANA III
19–21 October 2026
📍 Shkodër & Lëpushë, Kelmend, Albanian Alps, Albania
The European Tramontana Network, dedicated to the intangible cultural heritage of Europe’s rural and mountain communities, will reunite in Albania for its 3rd International Forum, hosted by GO2Albania from October 19th to 21st, 2026.
Tramontana Network is an international creative and research network established in 2012 through the European Union’s Culture Programme. Since then, it has gone through three further co-financing cycles in the Creative Europe Program—the only project of its kind in Europe—and has now expanded the network to 11 members from 7 different countries, operating in Portugal (Binaural Nodar), Spain (Audiolab), France (Ràdio País, Numériculture Gascogne, Eth Ostau Comengés), Italy (La Leggera APS, LEM-Italia, Bambun APS), Poland (Akademia Profil), Romania (Orma Sodalitas Anthropologica), and Albania (GO2 Albania), in addition to numerous associated partners from all the countries that take part in the project.
With a strong multidisciplinary approach spanning sociolinguistics, anthropology, ethnomusicology, and sound and visual arts, the network is dedicated to the documentation, research, preservation, and creative dissemination of the intangible cultural heritage of European mountain communities. Its work has received international recognition, including its selection among the Creative Europe Success Stories (2018) and the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Grand Prix (2020) in the Research category.
This year’s Forum brings the network to Shkodër and the Albanian Alps, offering an opportunity to reflect on the work accomplished and exchange experiences across different research fields. Through this gathering, GO2Albania welcomes its European partners to a territory where mountain landscapes, collective memory, and living traditions remain closely intertwined, continuing Tramontana’s commitment to connecting communities and cultures across Europe’s mountain regions.
The 3-day programme will combine working sessions among project partners, discussions on research, digital archives, artistic production, educational initiatives and public engagement, alongside activities dedicated to the cultural heritage of northern Albania. The Forum will conclude with a field visit to Lëpushë, in the Albanian Alps National Park, where project partners will explore the mountain landscape, summer pastures, and local cultural heritage.
Open to the public, GO2Albania, in collaboration with Shkodër County, will present the photography exhibition, featuring historical photographs taken in Kelmend dating since 1897. The exhibition offers a visual journey through the landscapes, people, and everyday life of Kelmend, drawing on archival collections from across Europe.
PUBLIC PROGRAM
20 October 2026
10:00–13:00
📍 Ndërtesa e Prefekturës (kati përdhe), Rruga 28 Nëntori, Shkodër
“Kelmendi qysh se u fotografue s’pari”
“Kelmendi, ever since it was first photographed”
photo exhibition, GO2Albania
Speakers
Ms. Holta Duda
Prefect of Shkodër County;
Head of “Albanian Alps” National Park Committee
Ms. Eltjana Shkreli
Architect, PhD Cand., GO2Albania
Mr. Luis Gomes da Costa
“Tramontana IV” Creative Europe Programme,
Binaural Nodar Association