The Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, hosted the British researcher and author Timothy Garton Ash, who is in Tirana to present his book “Homelands”, translated into Albanian with the title “Vendet e mia”. Veliaj presented the author with the “Key to the City” and thanked him for his contribution to Tirana.

“It is a great pleasure to have in our city a great historian and an outstanding activist like Timothy Garton Ash, who not only represents the best of Great Britain, but also the best of the Western world and its activism since the 70s, when he visited Albania, in the struggle to emancipate and open societies after the fall of communism. I am very happy that you have returned to the 90s and are finally visiting the Tirana of 2023. This city, this country, always needs clear minds, even to enrich itself with the history of others, and perhaps not to repeat the mistakes of others. As a historian, as a friend and as an outstanding activist, I want you to feel this city as your city. Thank you for your contribution and inspiration”, said Veliaj.

Historian Timothy Garton Ash said that he feels really welcome in Tirana, which he found totally transformed and which has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe.

“I came to Tirana for the first time in 1978. At that time it was a very different city, without the fantastic attractive places it has now. I think we can say unequivocally that it was not ‘cool’ at the time, and here we are 45 years later, and now thanks to you and your colleagues, it is a transformed city, becoming one of the most popular destinations from tourists in Europe. This shows that miracles can happen!” he said.

Timothy Garton Ash is the author of 11 books, which focus on the transformation of Europe over the last half century. He is a professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford, a researcher and fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and also a regular analyst of international affairs at the British daily, “The Guardian”.