Today is December 8, National Youth Day. Proclaimed since 2009 by the Parliament of Albania, this date is celebrated as a national holiday in honor of all the December 1990 students and all Albanian youth.

On December 8, 1990, a group of students and lecturers of Tirana University became the initiators and protagonists of the historic turning point, through their peaceful protests that brought about the fall of the communist system and the rise of democracy.

Chanting the slogan “We love Albania like all of Europe,” they stood up for the establishment of the Western values and the rule of law-based system; integration in Europe and political pluralism as the main basis for a free and democratic society.

The Student Movement of 1990 is the only peaceful movement that changed the history of Albania.

Their public act, both civic and political, peacefully ended the long era of isolation and ideological rule, paving the way for the market economy and open society.

The values of this marked day become more and more national values, because unlike other events, December 8 did not have two sides, one winner and one loser.