World Ozone Day 2026 in Albania: From Children’s Imagination to the Technology of the Future

This year, children and young people were at the heart of a series of activities that brought them closer to ozone and climate issues through education, art, sport and vocational training.

In several public schools across the country and in after-school settings, they learned about the success story of ozone layer protection, explored its connection with climate, and took part in activities that integrated these topics into their education, creativity and learning.

At “Karl Gega” Vocational School, World Ozone Day was directly linked to vocational education and the technology of the future. The new heat pump system using the natural refrigerant R290, with a GWP of only 3, was presented alongside a workshop for students in the Thermohydraulics programme. The system will serve as a practical learning environment, allowing students to gain first-hand experience with a technology that has a very low climate impact. The aim is for the “Karl Gega” experience to serve as a model for the use of these technologies in other vocational schools in Albania and more broadly across the region.

At “Mustafa Qemal Ataturk” 9-Year School in Sauk, children were introduced to messages about protecting the ozone layer, the climate and the environment through two different forms of engagement. During the “My Imagination” art workshop, they expressed the information and ideas discussed through colours and drawings. The “Ozone Cup” mini volleyball championship brought awareness into the field of sport: four teams competed wearing the official colours and messages of World Ozone Day 2026, turning sport into another way to raise awareness about ozone and climate issues.

The message also went beyond the school environment. At The Afterschool House, children aged 5–10 learned about the ozone layer and climate change through an age-appropriate educational video, conversation, questions and creative activities. It was a way to show that awareness about the planet, ozone and climate is not confined to the classroom.

The campaign also extended beyond Tirana. In cooperation with the Municipality of Maliq, the “Friends of the Climate” visual arts exhibition brought together 36 young artists from urban and rural areas of the municipality. Their works presented children’s perspectives on the ozone layer, climate change and the environment, turning art into a space for learning, discussion and the exchange of ideas.

From a child discovering for the first time why the ozone layer protects us, to a student learning to work with the technologies of the future, all the activities followed the same idea: the knowledge, awareness and skills needed to protect the ozone layer and the climate are built from an early age and develop alongside young people.

World Ozone Day 2026 was celebrated under the theme “Global Action for a Cooler Planet”, in a year that also marks the 10th anniversary of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.