Volunteer Action: “Castles of my coast”
On October 18th, we organized the “Castles of my coast” action in Borshi Castle with the participation of 120 volunteers.
This castle is located in a tourist area along the coast, and it is very interesting for its tourist and environmental potential. Its maintenance leaves a lot to be desired. The road to the castle was blocked before the action because of sliding stones.
Our 120 volunteers reacted under the “Act Now as a Smart Tourist” motto, freeing the road from stones.
The castle was also cleaned of the waste produced during the latest tourist season.
On October 19th, there was another action organized with the participation of 60 volunteers for cleaning the fortress in the village of Qeparo. This is one of the most beautiful villages along the Albanian coast, but most of its inhabitants have immigrated leaving the village neglected. In addition to our contribution to cleaning at the end of the summer tourist season, we also tried to raise the public awareness for a better management of our monuments and environment, and for creating possibilities to make use of their cultural and tourist potential.
On October 20th, the volunteer action continued in Porto Palermo.
Porto Palermo is also one of the most beautiful castles in the country with a long history of battles for protecting the Albanian territory. The castle is somehow better maintained, but the site is previously used as a military basis, which has created problems of environmental pollution.
After the actions, the participants made sure they also raised awareness about this important environmental site, promoting its beauty through the social networks facebook and blogs.
The event was covered on TV through spots that promoted citizens’ reaction and action.
The volunteers were mainly from Tirana, and were joined by activists of three local organizations and students from Borsh secondary school.
In this Actions, Smart Tourist Albania was also joined by Tirana Ekspres; ‘Rojat e Kepit’ Club; World Vision Vlora; SEEP Albania, and other organizations and initiatives. 
