For the very first time in Albania, a museum with an audio-guide system in four languages

BERAT, May 23^rd, 2019 – USAID, Sweden and Creative Business Solutions (CBS) today unveiled the new audio-guide system of the National Iconographic Museum Onufri in Berat. For the very first time in an Albanian national museum, guests will be able to follow the history of the museum as well as any relevant information about the icons and artists within it, in a total of four languages: Albanian, English, Italian, and German.

Funded by USAID and the Swedish Embassy and implemented by Creative Business Solutions, through the IntoAlbania project, the new audio-guide system aims to develop and improve the digital structure of the museum. The leading partners of IntoAlbania in this project are the Ministry of Culture, the National Center of Museums in Berat, and the National Iconographic Museum Onufri, who have provided a valuable scientific input to the process. Among various key collaborators, worth mentioning are Orpheo Group, a key player in providing cutting edge tour solutions for museums, cultural and touristic sites, and  A. A. Film Company based in Tirana.

Onufri Museum, Berat, photo by IntoAlbania.

Minister of Culture Elva Margariti, USAID Country Representative in Albania Mikaela Meredith, CBS Executive Director Enio Jaço, and Director of the National Center of Museums in Berat Agron Polovina, discussed at length the impact this project is expected to have on the number of museum visitors as well as on the ongoing development of the culture and tourism infrastructure in the city of Berat.

During her remarks, the Minister of Culture Elva Margariti stated that “the independent experiencing of a museum through an audioguide, by now an internationally established method in the world’s museums, is finally available in Albania for the first time in the Onufri Museum and aims to attract a greater number of visitors as well as to encourage other museums in the country to implement similar systems.”

In her welcome address, USAID Country Representative in Albania, Mikaela Meredith, claimed that with this project “Onufri has set the new standard to be reached by other museums in the country.”

The Executive Director of CBS, Enio Jaço, stated that ‘today we are celebrating the launch of the first Digital Audio-guided systems ever installed in a museum in Albania.  It’s a great technology that transforms the visitor’s experience through storytelling in 4 languages, while allowing him/her to explore the museum at own pace.  While we are proud to create this experience for the first time in Albania, we are hopeful that many other museums will follow’.

The Director of the National Center of Museum in Berat, Agron Polovina, emphasized, among other things, that “the final product we hold today should not represent the end but the starting point of a new era for the museums of Berat, one oriented toward digital tourism.”

Onufri Museum, Berat, photo by IntoAlbania.

The IntoAlbania project, funded by USAID and Sweden, was created in order to improve the tourism technology infrastructure of Albania. Over 25 thousand tourists have visited Albania thanks to the support of IntoAlbania platforms.