In this newsletter issue, you can read about Tdh efforts to focus some of the 2011 Local Elections spotlight on child protection issues through our nation-wide campaign Children’s Voice is in Your Vote, conducted in collaboration with the BKTF Coalition (United for the Care and Protection of Children). High-profile advocacy activities include a visit by the OSCE Ambassador Eugen Wollfarth to the Child Protection Unit in Vlora and a special address by Albanian President Bamir Topi to a national conference on the occasion of the International Roma Day, organized jointly with Amarodrom (Union of Albanian Roma Minority). During this time, we have also advocated tirelessly to establish 2 new Child Protection Units (CPU) in Albania. Tdh is pleased to announce that one of these CPUs will be operating at the Tirana Municipality Unit No. 4, while the other one at the Commune of Levan in Fier. Tdh would like to thank all the local partners and stakeholders for our successful collaboration on this endeavour and look forward to our joint work in making the new CPUs deliver the highest quality child protection services possible. On the other hand, our continuing cooperation with the Municipality of Saranda and the local orphanage led to the opening of a Daily Social Centre for the city’s vulnerable children in April. Tdh is delighted to announce that thanks to our collaboration with UNICEF, the State Social Services and the Department of Social Work and Policies at the University of Tirana, work has began towards developing an in-service training course for all child protection workers in Albania. We have supported local actors in exchanging best practices on the development of social policies based on community needs, as is the case of the knowledge exchange meeting between local government representatives of Fier, Vlora and Elbasan, at Municipality and Qark levels. Tdh has continued to deliver trainings in Child Protection and in the Movement, Games and Sports Methodology to a wide variety of child protection stakeholders all over the country in schools, residential institutions, partner organisations, community counselling groups, as well as parents and children themselves. We invited a guest writer from our partner,” European Movement in Albania”:http://www.em-al.org/, to elaborate on the need for enhanced child protection in the context of the EU visa-free regime with Albania. In an effort to develop a better understanding of child protection challenges, Tdh has undertaken two important studies: one on the phenomenon of child begging, the other one on the quality of local services by asking children themselves to assess the child protection service offered to them. We hope you will enjoy reading about all these activities, as Tdh Albania current efforts remain focused on supporting the Child Protection Units with their preparations for the children’s summer camps in 8 regions in the country.