The EU-funded Food Safety Project set up an interactive, consumer-oriented, highly-visual educational stand at the Third Annual Albania Works the Land Fair on 16-17 November 2019 in Tirana’s Skanderbeg Square, attracting more than 500 visitors, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens. Officials, including the Head of the EU Delegation and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, also visited the stand.

The fair -- the largest of its kind in Albania, focusing on agriculture, farming and food processing -- presented an opportunity to showcase a variety of activities and was a great location for the Food Safety Project to reach out directly to the public through its information stand. The Food Safety Project’s stand was situated in close proximity to the National Food Authority’s (AKU) stand, which served as a great opportunity to network with one of the project’s main beneficiaries and instil in the public’s mind the project’s goal to promote food safety in Albania through strengthening Albanian institutions.

The stand’s interactive nature made it very popular with the visitors looking for entertainment and education in one stop. The Wheel of Knowledge, a game where landing on one letter or another led to different food safety questions, attracted the most visitors, and, surprisingly, children were particularly interested in it, playing repeatedly and answering the questions correctly in most cases. The stand’s staff kept a register and noted visitors who interacted with the games. Based on the amount of literature and promotional materials distributed, more than 500 people visited the stand during the two days. On top of 30 percent being children, the other visitors ranged in ages from their 20s to 70s.