Tirana’s Digital Rights Governance Pilot was part of a four-city European effort to put human rights considerations into local digital policy and services. Tirana, Albania, was selected alongside Brussels, Dublin and Sofia following an open call in which cities described their digital-rights challenges.1
The pilot paired city teams with digital-governance experts to co-create, design and test a Digital Rights Governance Framework, with technical advice and tailored support for local strategies and projects.12 The framework was developed by the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, UN-Habitat, Eurocities and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), with support from Open Society Foundations.12 Its purpose was to give local governments practical and normative guidance for protecting human rights as they digitise municipal services.24
For Tirana, the work focused on establishing a city-wide basis for digital rights and strengthening the capacity of municipal staff and residents.3 The city identified two practical priorities: training civil servants on human rights in digital contexts, and developing a digital-rights agenda with a particular focus on young people.6 Workshops held in September 2022 helped set priorities, identify participants and define actions; the city also sought to develop an engagement strategy to raise awareness among young people.6
The wider project was organised in discovery, design and pilot phases: cities first surfaced local challenges, then worked with project partners to set priorities and roadmaps, before testing actions in practice.11 The project also planned a Digital Rights Helpdesk with a resource repository and access to expert advice, intended to help other cities adapt the framework.13 The stated aim was to build local capacity and share lessons beyond the four pilot cities.1