Elira Çanga

She also hosts the TV programme Diplomaticus on News 24 TV, which focuses on debating the Balkan conflicts, resolution and future challenges, as well as other issues of regional and international interest. 

Having also worked for the BBC’s Albanian service, Çanga has covered social issues and contributed to many radio packages on women’s and children’s rights in Albania, healthcare, poverty and discrimination against the nation’s most vulnerable groups.

Çanga’s daily work, however, is focused on the situation of Albanians in the Balkans, conflicts and the future of a region still recovering from the bloody conflicts of the 90s.  She has a special interest on writing stories that engage the people of Balkans, particularly the region’s past.

Her fellowship topic focused on public attitudes to war crimes and how nationalism has often impeded public understanding of what constitutes a war crime, as well as clouded the truth about key events.

Çanga investigated how far people are able to acknowledge that military leaders they consider to be national heroes and defenders carried out heinous war crimes. As well as reporting from Albania, she visited Kosovo, Croatia and Germany to compare state-sponsored truth and reconciliation efforts.