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The Institute for Democracy, Media & Culture (Albanian: Instituti për Demokraci, Media dhe Kulturë) [short: IDMC] is an Albanian non-governmental and non-profit organization founded by Jonila Godole in 2014. The main objective of the institute is to promote democratic values, following an interdisciplinary approach. The activities are based on three pillars: democracy, media, and culture. The IDMC is a partner organization of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Mission
The actives and objectives of the Institute for Democracy, Media and culture can be categorized according to the three pillars:

Democracy
The institute aims to strengthen democratic values. It sees itself as a think tank that aims to enable debates and discussions across all social classes - with a focus on reaching young people in particular and addressing them using modern media.

Media
Media play a key role in raising awareness of democratic behavior. Media should be supported and monitored in this task by being involved in development projects.

Culture and cultural remembrance
The third pillar is dedicated to culture and cultural remembrance, which is to be promoted and supported through the work of the IDMC. The focus is on art, culture and cultural exchange, also beyond Albania's borders. The implementation takes place through the organization of exhibitions, activities, workshops, etc., which are intended to stimulate intercultural and interreligious exchange. Another focus of the Institute of Democracy, Media and Culture is dealing with Albania's totalitarian communist past. In order to strengthen democracy and anchor values in the younger generation, an awareness of history, injustice and abuses of earlier times should be formed.

Fields of Activity
The activities of the IDMC are primarily aimed at young people. The goal is to strengthen democratic values and deal with Albania's past. For this purpose, conferences, discussions, competitions and workshops at schools and educational institutions in general. There are also activities that are intended to specifically train teachers in dealing with the communist past and providing them with additional educational material. In addition to the publication of Sigurimi files, journalists are also briefed on how to handle and work with them. In addition, the IDMC takes a stance on relevant issues in Albanian society with reference to the communist regime, gives advice and suggestions for improvement.

Observatori i Kujtesës
The Observatori i Kujtesës (English: Memory Observatory) is a project organized by the Institue of Democracy, Media and Culture that serves as a hub for collecting documents, scientific articles and projects that have been created in cooperation with external partners. Among other things, the portal publishes interviews with eyewitnesses as part of the "Unë Dëshmoj" (English: I testify) project - people who were persecuted during the communist era.

Communist myths and romanticization are subjected to fact checks. Common terms with communist backgrounds unknown to the general public are explained using short videos and at the same time embellished with background information and context.

Notable events and projects
Over time, a number of events were organized by the IDMC. Some of these projects run for several years and some of them form an important part of the overall ensemble of cultural remembrance in Albania:

Memory Days
The Memory Days (Albanian: Ditët e Kujtesës) have been an annual event since 2016 aimed at raising awareness to the Albanian as well as the international public of the human rights violations and crimes committed by the communist regime. They are a multi-day event consisting of conferences, panel discussions, exhibitions, study trips to memorable places and award-winning competitions such as the "Ask your Grandparents" competition.

The event is usually spread over several locations - within Tirana as well as in the rest of the country. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, some events can also be followed via a live video stream. The Memory Days are mainly held in Albanian. However, some lectures are also in English. Simultaneous translation into German, English and Albanian is partially available.

Since 2019, Memory Days have been held around February 20. to commemorate the anniversary of the toppling of Enver Hoxha's statue in Skanderbeg Square. This date marks the beginning of the fall of the communist regime.

Ask your Grandparents – Competition
"Ask Your Grandparents" (Albanian: Pyet Gjyshërit) is a competition that aims to challenge the creativity of young people while dealing with the communist regime. Stories from older relatives, teachers or other reference persons who have experienced communist period in Albania should serve as a model for an artistic examination of this topic. The competition is nationwide and is aimed primarily at school and university students aged fifteen to nineteen.

Calendar of Memory
The "calendar of memory" (Albanian: Kalendari i Kujtesës) is a handy pocket calendar that, in addition to the task of a normal calendar, has noted days worth remembering. The selection of noted days carried out by the IDMC is intended to remind the user of the absence of democracy in the past on a daily basis.

Books

 * Neela Winkelmann-Heyrovská, Gillian Purves: Lest We Forget, 2nd Edition; 2022
 * Jonila Godole: Vademecum Albania; IDMC, 2022
 * Uran Butka, Pjerin Mirdita, Oriada Dajko: Calendar of Memory 2022; IDMC, 2021
 * Idrit Idrizi, Jonila Godole: Reflection of the Communist Period in the Albanian History School Curriculum; 2020
 * IDMC: Album "Memory as a Mission"; 2020
 * Uran Butka, Pjerin Mirdita: Calendar of Memory 2021; IDMC, 2020
 * IDMC & Partners: Western Balkans Youth Together for a Shared Future; 2020
 * Idrit Idrizi, Jonila Godole, Fatmiroshe Xhemalaj: Communism through Archival Documents, vol. III. (1967–71); IDMC, 2020
 * Erblin Vukaj, Jonila Godole: Debate on Former "Kinostudio" Movies; 2020
 * Jonila Godole, Idrit Idrizi: Between Apathy and Nostalgia: Public and Private Recollections of Communism in Contemporary Albania; 2019
 * Erblin Vukaj, Jonila Godole: (Non-)Rehabilitation of Former Politically Persecuted: In the Process of Transitional Justice (1991–2018); 2019
 * Jonila Godole, Kailey Rocker, Edlira Agolli: Manual On Oral History; 2019
 * Idrit Idrizi, Jonila Godole, Fatmiroshe Xhemalaj: Communism through Archival Documents 2: Daily Life During Self-Isolation; 2018
 * Idrit Idrizi, Jonila Godole, Fatmiroshe Xhemalaj: Communism through Archival Documents: Repression in the Self-Isolation Period; 2017
 * Jonila Godole, Sonila Danaj: Media Transformation and Collective Memory in Albania; 2015

Brochures

 * IDMC: Memory as a mission; 2016

Research

 * Jonila Godole: Propaganda, Disinformation and Online Tactics to Undermine Democracy; 2021
 * Jonila Godole, Ada Huibregtse: Survey: Reflection of the communist period in the history curriculum in Albania; 2020
 * Jonila Godole: Media Literacy Training Manual for Schools; 2020
 * Erblin Vukaj: Research: Freedom of expression under threat; 2019
 * IDMC & Partners: Albania: A Need for Dialogue with Media Outlets on Internships; KAS, 2016
 * IDMC: Survey: Journalism Education in Albania; 2015