Elbasan, December 5, 2025

On 5 December 2025, at the premises of Aleksandër Xhuvani University in Elbasan, a regional workshop was held titled:

“Enhancing Regional Cooperation on Critical Raw Materials (CRM) and the Circular Economy in the Balkans”, organized by the Regional Innovation Center of EIT Raw Materials (RIC Albania) in collaboration with the host university..

🎯 This workshop marked the first public presentation of the preliminary findings of the OSF–WB project, which aims to:

• strengthen cooperation between Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia,
• develop secondary sources of critical raw materials,
• support the valorization of industrial waste,
• promote circular economy models in the Western Balkans.

📌 The workshop opened with welcoming remarks by the Director of RIC EIT Albania, Ms. Ledi Moisiu, who highlighted the importance of this event for regional cooperation and the project’s role in building a unified approach to CRM.

She was followed by Prof. Dr. Elvira Fetahu, Rector of Aleksandër Xhuvani University, who emphasized the university’s commitment to supporting scientific research and innovative initiatives.

🎯 The opening session continued with a project presentation by Ms. Mimoza Simixhiu, expert at RIC Albania, followed by contributions from As. Prof. Ana Fociro, Dr. Jeton Pekmezi & Marilda Osmani as representatives from Albania,,

Mr. Kemajl Zeqiri as the representative from Kosovo, as well as a group of international young participants “GeoCura”project who presented their innovative projects.

💡 Their contributions provided a clear overview of the situation in each country, highlighting key potentials and challenges for the development of secondary sources of critical raw materials.