The Cultural Heritage Unit (CHU) was established in January 2007 to broaden the focus of the ICAA to include issues and aspects of cultural heritage management.

The Unit is concerned with fundraising, conservation, management training and promotion of Albanian cultural heritage through partnership with government institutions, foreign donors and non governmental organisations. Links have been established with the South East European Heritage network to promote internationally Albania’s rich cultural heritage as a resource for sustainable and responsible development.

The managerial needs of the newly created archaeological parks in Shkodra, Apollonia, Byllis, Oricum, Amantia and Antigonea are particularly significant. Drawing on the experience of the staff of the Butrint National Park, workshops have been organised to train the staff of these new National Parks in core management tasks, such as management plan preparation, project proposal writing and fundraising practices.

Other initiatives include: renovation of the church roof of Shën Koll (Saint Nicholas) in Voskopoja (in partnership with the Epirus Egnatia Foundation in Ioannina) in order to protect its outstanding 18th-century wall paintings from rain damage; fundraising for and devising the renovation of the museum in Saranda – closed for more than 10 years; as well as the publication of a new series of archaeological guidebooks to Albania, structured on a regional basis. The breadth of activities is the key to success for the CHU and the Unit will continue to be an invaluable part of Albanian cultural heritage as the management of this sector increasingly steers towards European standards.