After a competitive selection process, Kristi Cina, President of the United Nations Association of Albania, was chosen for his outstanding contribution to his UNA, support for the values and work of the UN in the context of its 75th Anniversary, active participation in efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and finding creative and innovative solutions to continue implementing youth programs amidst challenges posed by COVID-19.
In his role, Kristi worked on the promotion of the 75th anniversary of the UN with the UN Country Team in Albania, especially among youth. Through a partnership between UNA-Albania and the UN, Kristi was able to increase the participation of Albanian youth in the UN75 survey and hosts several UN75 dialogues. All this effort was reflected in the UN75 report prepared by the UN for the General Assembly in September 2020.
After the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Albania, he amended and adapted UN75 celebrations to be held online. Moreover, this initiative was complemented with a brief informative and awareness raising campaign containing official sources information on the pandemic. He organized virtual Coffee Talks, informative Vlogs on UN75, national TV appearances of with UNA-Albania members to promote the UN75 survey.
Kristi has shown great leadership in developing UNA-Albania. When Kristi became President of UNA-Albania it was an entirely volunteer led organization. Recently, it transitioned into an mixed organization with volunteer and paid staff.
We congratulate Kristi for being such an important member of the WFUNA network and for his tireless effort to advance UN values and ideals, particularly at a time when they are needed the most. We look forward to working with him in the next year.