The restoration of “Mësonjëtorja”, the first secular school in the Albanian language established when Albania was still part of the Ottoman Empire, has sparked a debate in the country.
MP candidates from opposition parties claim that efforts to modernize Mësonjëtorja “harm its identity” and with it “a loss of the city’s history”.
“The modernization of this museum in my opinion is problematic. That is not because we don’t accept introducing technology or the need to repair the building, but because it will lose its identity. Starting off with the ugly desks that resemble a bar more than a museum, and that they don’t give you a sense that you are in a former school turned into a museum”, said Klajdi Pllaha, a candidate of “Nisma Thurje”, (translated as the Hashtag Initiative).
The Democratic Party’s candidate, Sorina Koti, said that modernization should not lead to “loss of identity”.
“Technology and the exposure to the modern cannot lead to a loss of identity and deformation, but to enrichment and contemporary formats. The objects exposed in the classrooms, which back in the day were used for the first time to speak freely, and speak and read in the Albanian language, do not give any emotions and fail to bring back the memories of those days”, said Koti.
The Socialist Party also responded to the accusations saying that “thanks to the restoration many objects are being exposed for the first time” while adding that technology will serve to attract even more visitors.
“For the first time in the museum, several relics and unique objects have been exposed, such as the quill pen of Persefoni Treni, the bookbinding device of Konstandin Kristoforidhi, a special gift from the Kennedy’s, and many other materials and publications that were added to the museum making it a true center of the Albanian identity. Thanks to technology many visitors can now hear and see in the screen the real voices of these important people, making it even more attractive for the younger generations”, stressed the spokesperson of the Socialist Party, Ina Kosta.
The Minister of Culture, Elva Margariti, attended the inauguration of the “Educational Museum of Korça”, where she said that there “will always be debates over the aesthetics, but they must not interrupt the work being done”.
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