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"The Artist as Diplomat"/ "Die Presse": Fate Velaj understands diplomacy as a complex work of art

Gazeta prestigjioze austriake Die Presse, i ka kushtuar sot një analizë figurës së ambasadorit Fate Velaj, duke e trajtuar atë midis historisë personale, dimensionit artistiko-letrar dhe vizionit të tij të "Charme Diplomacy". "Fate Velaj e kupton diplomacinë si një vepër komplekse arti"

2026-05-24 08:38:00, Aktualitet Wieland Schneider

"The Artist as Diplomat"/ "Die Presse": Fate Velaj

"The Artist as Diplomat"

The day of the Albanian ambassador in Vienna begins at five in the morning. With an espresso without sugar – and paints on canvas. Because Fate Velaj is not only the representative of Albania in Austria. He is also an artist, who paints, photographs and writes. His works are exhibited in European galleries - but also in his office at the embassy, ??on Prinz-Eugen Street.

For Velaj, this is not just an expression of his art. For him, this is also an important part of his diplomatic work because through them, he tells the guests his story in Austria as well as a colorful and enthusiastic Albania.

The opening of exhibitions, such as the recent "Red Between You and Me" at the Vienna Grand Gallery, is attended by ambassadors from other countries, representatives of the Austrian government and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the municipality of Vienna, and representatives of Austrian art and culture.

"The Artist as Diplomat"/ "Die Presse": Fate Velaj

His artistic presentation thus becomes - as Velaj says - part of the "charm diplomacy" that he is practicing, where through meetings in every corner of Austria, institutional ties between the two countries, and art, he creates sympathy for Albania.

"I want to create a positive image without imposition – not through demagogy, but by drawing others towards us with our values ????and culture," he explains.

Albania also badly needs a diplomatic offensive. By 2027, Prime Minister Edi Rama aims to complete membership negotiations with the European Union. By 2030, the country is expected to become a member of the Union.

A major challenge. The European Commission's latest progress report praised Albania's efforts in the negotiations. At the same time, further efforts are required in the fight against corruption and crime.

When it comes to Albania's admission to the circle of other European Union states, Fate Velaj speaks of "a historical heritage that is based on common values."

At the same time, he says:

"Albania does not aim for EU membership without fulfilling the obligations that other countries have fulfilled before us" - and adds:

"We will only join when we are convinced that we deserve to stand alongside the French, Germans, Italians, Belgians or Spaniards. Because only then will we be able to look them in the eye without fear and without complexes - without the worry that one day someone might tell us: you were accepted because we felt sorry for you."

Albania's path to European Union candidate status and NATO membership has been a difficult one. Under communist dictator Enver Hoxha, Albania was perhaps the most isolated country in Europe. Out of his paranoia, Hoxha covered the entire country with countless concrete bunkers. Anyone suspected of collaborating with "enemies" abroad or opposing the regime ended up in prison. After the fall of communism, Albania was plunged into financial and political crises - conflicts that often erupted into violent street clashes.

"The Artist as Diplomat"/ "Die Presse": Fate Velaj

Albania's turbulent history is also part of Fate Velaj's personal story – a story that the ambassador and artist immortalized in his novel Kreuztanne. After a difficult and dangerous journey, Velaj arrived as a young man in Austria - on July 21, 1991, a day that would change his life.

He came as a refugee, first to the reception center in Traiskirchen and then to the small Lower Austrian village of Sankt Anton an der Jeßnitz, to the "Kreuztanne" hostel. He learned German, supported himself initially with odd jobs, even a dishwasher. Later he worked shifts at the Heiser metal factory in Gaming. And at the same time he took his first artistic steps: he began to paint.

In the novel Kreuztanne, which has been translated into several languages, Fate Velaj describes how he finally took root in Austria. At the same time, he also tells the story of the lives of the people he met along the way.

Kreuztanne is a story of migration - between autobiography and fiction, a novel about the birth of the artist and a social study in a gentle, poetic and at the same time lucid language.

For several months, the ambassador has been on a reading tour with his novel in many parts of Austria.

"I want to tell my story, which is both an Austrian and a European story – and which shows what we were like back then," he says.

Fate Velaj also reflects on Albania's past in his book Mossanga, which is currently being translated into German. At the center of the novel is also a true story - that of children from Congo who, due to the civil war in their homeland, find refuge in communist Albania. There, however, attempts are made to transform them into young communists. When they grow up, they realize that the propaganda was far from reality and react by ending up as victims of the dictatorial system that once accepted them.

Velaj studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, followed a long artistic path - among others under Hermann Nitsch and Adolf Frohner -, dedicated himself to cultural politics, and received high praise in Austria, Italy, from the European Parliament, and in the USA.

He is committed to a united Europe - where Albania would also become part of it. Since 2024, he has been Albania's ambassador to Austria./ CNA