Thursday February 6 2025
Monday February 3 2025 at 10:50 | updated at February 4 2025 1:28 Community

A step forward: Advocating for the Albanian community

Albanian Professionals Networking Event 2024. | Photo courtesy of Alan Katowitz
Albanian Professionals Networking Event 2024. | Photo courtesy of Alan Katowitz
The value of community connections, for Amarildo Ceka, is the building of long-lasting relationships with people, institutions and organizations. One of his many initiatives – the Albanian Professionals Networking Event – returns March 1, for its second run, at the University of British Columbia (UBC)’s Robson Square theatre.
A step forward: Advocating for the Albanian community
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Amarildo Ceka

“Communities are not ours to own or lead – we are here to serve, support and empower them as they shape their own paths and build their futures,” says Ceka, who has been actively supporting the local Albanian community since 2022.

With a line-up of speakers reflecting diversity in nationality, gender, and profession, the event will also debut the Albanian Business Directory of British Columbia – a website showcasing the entrepreneurship of local Albanians.

Addressing community needs

Born in Albania, Ceka moved to the United States at the age of 17 to pursue higher education. After working in the American medical sector, he returned to Albania during the pandemic, serving as an advisor to its Minister of Health and Social Protection.

His work with non-profit organizations inspired an interest in learning about community building and cultural diasporas – informing his grassroots approach to working with the local Albanian community.

“You start with meeting people [and] understand what the issues are,” he says. “Then, you can tackle some of the issues with long and sustainable programs.”

To identify these issues, Ceka initially partnered with the EaglesLand Albanian Society of BC in a UBC funded study, researching the history, demographic and needs of the local Albanian community.

“Although we’re a very small community, we need to make sure that we’re utilizing and building connections with the wider…migrant communities or the wider general Canadian society,” he points out.

A 2022–2023 recipient of UBC’s Chapman and Innovation Grant, the study identified three main waves of Albanian immigration to BC, starting in the early 20th century, each with their own resettlement needs.

“Some individuals are interested in professional programs, some individuals are interested in only cultural programs,” Ceka adds. “So, you really have to know your community well in order to develop programs that they will enjoy.”

While he now continues the work independently of the study and partnership, Ceka’s community building, particularly his use of the term “ethnic Albanians,” has always accounted for all those with Albanian heritage, despite differences in nationality.

“Some of the programs that I’ve been doing lately are targeting and aiming to make sure that those disparities between different waves of migration and different migrants who come from Albania and Kosovo are meeting with one another,” he adds.

A collaborative future

A major milestone in Ceka’s advocacy work occured when the city of Vancouver proclaimed Feb. 17 as Kosovo Independence Day in 2024. For Ceka, this recognition is more than symbolic; it is a clear acknowledgement of the community’s stories and contributions to the broader Canadian society.

“[We articulated] why this day holds deep significance, not just for the Albanian-Kosovar community, but for the values of freedom, democracy and self-determination that Canada upholds,” he adds, noting the support of the Kosovo Embassy in Canada as well.

Ceka currently does not work under a non-profit organization; instead, he elicits the help of dedicated volunteers to plan events. In the future, he hopes to formally register a non-profit and establish a cultural centre.

“You don’t have a location you’re meeting [where] you’re talking to one another,” he says. “It’s really hard to create communities without having that physical contact.”

Another core part of Ceka’s work is encouraging youth participation – with the hope that they too will eventually mentor the younger generation. When working with youth, he invests in their ideas, allowing their visions to take centre stage. Ceka encourages people to visit Albania – a country that he sees as having some of the most welcoming people in the world.

“The culture runs just as old as the Greek or Italian culture, and because it’s situated between Greece and Italy, it’s been influenced by many of these cultures,” he says. “If people visited, they would have one of the best times in their life.”

For more information on Amarildo Ceka and the upcoming networking event, please see https://ca.linkedin.com/in/amarildoceka

For more information on Ceka’s UBC-funded study, please see: https://ccel.ubc.ca/2024/08/empowering-ethnic-albanians-in-british-columbia-amarildo-ceka