Jean Monnet Module - Activities

Activities

What we run, and when

2026 lecture and seminar cycle

February–May 2026 · online

The cycle opened on World Wetlands Day, 2 February 2026, with a lecture by Sonila Papathimiu on what wetlands are, why they matter and how the Ramsar Convention protects them, with Karavasta as the case study. Over the following weeks every member of the team took a turn: the legal basis of wetland protection in EU and Albanian law, the economic, environmental and strategic value of wetlands, integrated management and EU good practice, youth environmental education, water and air quality, and the GIS and satellite-image analysis behind climate and wetland monitoring.

Training I / 29–30 June 2026

“The main challenges of Albanian wetlands and the use of GIS/Remote Sensing for mapping, monitoring and analysis” · online

Session I · MSc. Gazmir Çela (IGJEO): satellite data for climate assessment and its effects on coastal wetlands; European standards and successful models.
Session II · Assoc. Prof. Dr. Enkela Begu (FHF, UT) and MSc. Iris Mahmutaj (ASIG): ASIG geospatial data for monitoring Albanian wetlands, from the National Geoportal to practical GIS work.
Session III · Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sonila Papathimiu and Dr. Adelajda Halili: reading environmental pressures and ecosystem change in Albanian wetlands with GIS and Sentinel data.

Summer School I / 1–3 July 2026

“EU approaches to wetland restoration and protection: implementation challenges for Albania in the EU integration process” · online

Lecture · Sonila Papathimiu: urban expansion and land-use/land-cover change as the main pressures on Albanian wetlands, how GIS/RS detects them and how EU environmental policy answers.
Open debate: different drivers, one threatened ecosystem. Is there a single “main pressure” on Albanian wetlands, and can satellite data stand in for field checks?
Lecture · Dhurata Premti: PM2.5 from forest fires, air-pollution dynamics and the ecosystem of Lake Ohrid.
Open debate: pressures that know no borders. How do fires, air pollution and climate interact with wetland and lake ecosystems, and can we follow them from space?

Field visits with a legal focus

One visit a year, for at least 25 participants chosen among those who have followed a Module activity: Karavasta Lagoon, the largest lagoon in Albania and its first Ramsar Site; the Prespa Lakes, a wetland shared by three countries; and Butrint, both a Ramsar Site and a UNESCO World Heritage property.

Coming next

2027: second lecture and seminar cycle (February–May), Training II, a workshop on the economic and social values of wetlands, field visit to Prespa.
2028: third lecture cycle, Summer School II, field visit to Butrint and the final conference.

Outputs

Module syllabus (Deliverable 1.1), 2026.
Two scientific articles on Albanian wetlands, GIS/RS and EU integration.
A policy paper: “Restoring and Protecting Albanian Wetlands: Conservation Strategies and Challenges in the Context of EU Integration”.
The final conference and its proceedings, 2028.

The 2026 cycle in pictures

Moments from the online lectures and seminars, published with the permission of the lecturers and participants.

Screenshot of the online session: a slide announcing a structured debate on whether environmental education is mainly the school’s or society’s responsibility, with the debate rules and an illustration spelling DEBATE, and Blerina Hamzallari’s video tile on the right.

Instead of a list of recommendations, a structured debate: is environmental education the school’s job or society’s? One minute per student, and arguments rather than opinions.

Screenshot of the online lecture: a slide with a sequence of maps showing how satellite images are processed in GIS into a land-use/land-cover map of a coastal area, with participants’ video tiles on the right.

MSc. Gazmir Çela (IGJEO) shows how satellite images are processed in a GIS to map land use and land cover.

Participants online during Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ejona Bardhi’s session on the EU and Albanian law that protects wetlands.

Take part

Calls for each activity are posted here, and on the Faculty and Module pages, about a month before it starts. Eligibility, costs and registration are explained in the FAQ.

Questions? Write to the coordinator: sonila.papathimiu@unitir.edu.al

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