"Life Stands" - inauguration of a project dedicated to safety on Albanian beaches
07.08.2024
As part of the Embassy's development cooperation project, devices supporting water rescue operations were installed on popular beaches of Golem.
On 7 May, in the presence of the Minister of Interior Ervin Hoxha, the Minister of Health and Social Protection Albana Koçiu, the Director General of the National Rescue Centre Skënder Brataj and the Chairman of the Polish-Balkan Parliamentary Group, MP Tomasz Glogowski, the inauguration of a project dedicated to beach safety took place in Golem. The project entitled "Life Stands - safe recreation on Albanian beaches", implemented with funds from the development aid programme "Polish Aid", aims to increase the safety of people resting on beaches through the installation of innovative life-saving equipment - Life Stands. The stands are a Polish invention by Piotr Sulecki, and in Golem they have been installed for the first time outside Poland. The partner in the project is AFPRA - Albanian Association for Fire Protection and Rescue.
The Life Stand is a sound and light system integrated with a lifebelt and buoys, which alerts about a threat to life of a person in the water.
Five Stands have been set up along a five-kilometre stretch of beach in Golem, one of the most popular tourist destinations on Albania's Adriatic coast. The stand has instructions for use in Albanian and English, and a video instruction manual has been prepared, available for viewing through a QR code placed on the stand.
The project responds to the problem diagnosed in Albania of the lack of an institutional water rescue service and life-saving infrastructure. The Ministry of Health and the National Medical Rescue Centre are interested in continuing the project and extending the functionality of the Stands to include an automatic emergency service notification system (so far in a test version).
The ceremony included a demonstration of first aid techniques presented by Albanian emergency services.
