Prime Minister Rama, Mayor Veliaj, Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF) CEOs, Mr. Mata and Mr. Sarapuli, friends:
“History” is a curious thing. We often talk about “the course of history,” as if events have a life and will of their own, and people are carried along in its course. On the other hand, we also talk about “history in the making,” which implies a maker. “History in the making” is what brings us together today.
The Pyramid of Tirana opened in 1988 as the Enver Hoxha Museum, a cynical celebration of dictatorship. It epitomized the notion that people are passive subjects in the course of a brutal history over which they have no say.
Well, as the Albanian people proved in 1991, they do have a say. They proclaimed that the history of Albania is in the making, and the Albanian people are its makers.
Just over a year ago, AADF, Vodafone, and the City of Tirana agreed to create space to foster tech innovation. Their cooperation is now turning that vision into a reality.
I look forward to seeing this partnership – between government and business, and between Americans and Albanians – transform the Pyramid from a symbol of the dark past into an incubator for Albania’s bright future, one where Albania’s best and brightest learn to be the makers of their own history.
Thank you.