Many of you know, UKAP’s core activity is professional networking organised 3-4 times a year. But we also aim to use our network as a platform for activities that benefit the Albanian community across the United Kingdom.

A current key campaign is the accreditation of the Albanian language into the GCSE curricula which would make the Albanian language available to be studied in British secondary schools. Shpresa Programme has undertaken this initiative and has been publicly campaigning to make the Albanian language officially part of the curriculum. The importance of this initiative cannot be stressed enough: it benefits everyone in our community and will be a tremendous asset to the tens of thousands of Albanian pupils in UK schools.

To make this opportunity a reality, Shpresa and the Albanian community together, need to raise £100.000 by the 30 September 2013 to allow the development of the curriculum.

In support of this campaign, many of us at UKAP have decided to make this an on official group effort. We will be participating in a running event on Sunday, 29 September 2013. We hope to engage and appeal as many volunteers as possible to raise funds towards for the campaign.

HOW CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE:

- You can help us raise funds and awareness;
- You can take part in the run; or
- You can attend the day of the running event cheering for the participants (and, why not, joining the runners for a refreshing drink afterwards!).

FUNDRAISING

We expect to raise funds through the following:

- UKAP employers & organisations (companies, charities or grant-making trusts);
- established Albanian entrepreneurs/business anywhere in the world; and
- donations from caring individuals such as You and I.

Please note: some corporates/employers have charity fundraising matching schemes which could double the funds raised by an employee and would make a big difference for this cause. If you work for an organisation with such a scheme, please join us for the running and contact us to discuss.

THE RUNNING EVENT

A good challenge but nothing to scare the average Albanian – the Ealing half-marathon on Sunday, 29 September 2013! Chosen for its convenient location and time. More details: http://www.ealinghalfmarathon.com/

SHPRESA FOUNDATION

Shpresa Foundation is a registered charity promoting and supporting the Albanian community here in the UK, including the Albanian language. Many of you will recognise this charity for its contribution towards teaching Albanian to children of Albanian origins in Sunday schools. More information: http://www.shpresaprogramme.com/index.html

Finally, please note that this is a social event and should be fun. Feel free to participate even if you cannot run – any form of participation is a contribution towards the cause. Bear in mind, the funds will go only towards the cause and not UKAP.

Thus far the following have volunteered to participate in the UKAP RUN:

- ONi Bilali (Point of contact for UKAP RUN)
- Ella Hoxha
- Florian Osmani
- Bujar Metaj
- Artan Llabjani
- Eduard Alia
- Majlinda Prendi

Look out for an official event to be circulated in the next few days with more details about how to make a donation and where you can register your participation.

Kind regards,

Driton Bilali (Point of contact UKAP RUN)
Eduard Alia and Perparim Rama (for and on behalf of UKAP)