Bringing Toastmasters to Albania

Chartering a new club can be a daunting task, much less the first club in a new city, much less the first club in a new country. However, Endri Ndoni of Tirana, Albania, did all three when he helped charter Toastmasters Tirana, a hybrid and bilingual club, in Albania, in June 2024.

Even more impressive is that within a year of chartering, the new club achieved President’s Distinguished status and managed to keep almost the same membership base number as in the charter roster.

Albania

Albania is often overlooked on the world stage, so founding a new club here was a major step onto the international Toastmasters stage. A small, mountainous country in the Balkan Peninsula, Albania sits directly northwest of Greece and is separated from Italy by the Adriatic Sea. The club is located in the capital city of Tirana, and is now part of District 109, which encompasses 16 countries in Europe.

Ndoni sees Toastmasters as a “great global bridge” to connect Albanians and Albanian immigrants around the globe. He is currently working to launch and sponsor more clubs in Albania and in the Albanian-speaking countries in the region.

As a professional management consultant, Ndoni has spent the past decade honing his speaking skills. He was terrified of public speaking as a teenager, but he decided to challenge that fear when he started college. Ndoni discovered Toastmasters while reading about speakers and watching videos of speeches online. He didn’t have the opportunity to join a club at that time, but decided last year was the right moment to start his own.

“I was ready and charged to make Toastmasters accessible for Albania,” Ndoni says.

Team Effort to Charter

While Ndoni spearheaded the formation of the first Toastmasters club in Albania, he is quick to acknowledge that the groundbreaking step was a team effort, a point others also recognize.

Ndoni had already made connections with Francesca Gammicchia, DTM, of Milan, Italy, whom he had met 10 years ago. She was a longtime Toastmaster who had served in various leadership roles at the club, Area, and Division level, and was the 2023-2024 Club Growth Director. Gammicchia supported Ndoni and served as a sponsor, mentor, and founding member of Toastmasters Tirana.

Ndoni then planned a demo meeting. He posted about the event on LinkedIn, and his post received over 400 engagements and was seen by more than 30,000 people.

Gammicchia, along with founding members Kristi Tirana and Ledi Laka, helped Ndoni run the meeting, and many experienced Toastmasters from the District took on meeting roles. Over 100 people attended that initial event.

“Endri was the one to turn on the light, but then there were so many great people that kept the light on!” says Franceska Davidhi, of Maastricht, Netherlands, a participant in the demo meeting, past Vice President Education of Toastmasters Tirana, and the District’s current Administration Manager.

Toastmasters Tirana chartered just a month later. The club now has 24 members.

The Impact of Toastmasters

The facts and figures surrounding the new club are impressive, but its impact is more about the people it has helped during its first year.

“People are amazed at themselves for their increased confidence, better techniques in public speaking and speech analysis, increased ability to give and receive constructive feedback, and proud to be part of a community that is supportive and focused on growth,” Ndoni says. Since joining the club, some members have been promoted to managerial roles and others are becoming leaders, he adds.

Although many members knew very little about Toastmasters, Ndoni saw their potential. As the first President of the club, he led by example to inspire his club. Despite not being aware of the Distinguished Club Program at first, the club went on to earn President’s Distinguished status within its first year.

“We knew nothing, and yet we did everything right,” says Kristi Tirana, the club’s first Vice President Public Relations.

Toastmasters also helped the members form stronger personal relationships with friends and family. The social activities after the meetings—dinners and drinks, karaoke, and barbecues on the weekends—helped foster stronger bonds and boost the community spirit among members.

“We currently have at least five new guests per meeting, and the community is growing stronger day by day,” Ndoni says. “This gives me confidence that we will, indeed, change the world one Albanian at a time!”

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