Teacher and poet, Vorea Ujko passed away on January 26, 1989. He was born in the village of Frasnita, in an Arberesh area of Calabria in Italy, in 1918. Vorea Ujko, apart from being a priest, he also studied literature and as such worked as a literature teacher in Firmo. As a young poet of Arbëresh origins, he made efforts to preserve and cultivate their Albanian language version, which they had preserved from generation to generation, and which represents a good study for the linguists, to get closer to today’s Albanian language. A strong sense of his connection with culture and ancestors can be seen in his creativity. Ujko’s creations have been published in anthologies and publications in Italy, Albania and Kosova. He has published poetry collections like Blood Awakenings, Kosova, Modern Time, Anxiety, My Seasons, Arbëresh Song, The Source, etc.

 January 26, 1940, is the birthdate of the writer and playwright Isa Alibaliwas. He was graduated from the Language and Literature department in 1960 and worked for 3 years in Mirdita, being the first director of Public High School of Rrëshen. From the middle of 1967 until the end of 1982, he was the director of the “Migjeni” Theater of Shkodër, with a three-year interval, when he was the director of the House of Culture and Popular Creativity (1969-72). He has been director of the artistic high school “Prenkë Jakova” in Shkodër and for the last three years, until his retirement in 1991, he worked as a simple literature teacher in the High School “Jordan Misja” of his home city. Author of many works, he died on September 19, 2018.

On January 26, 2007 the chief negotiator for Kosova, former Fin president, Marti Ahtisari presented to the Contact Group for Kosova in Vianna, his proposal on the final status of Kosova. The meeting took place behind closed doors.

On January 26, 2014, Laver Bariu, a prominent personality of Albanian popular music, the most virtuoso player of clarinet passed away. He was born in Përmet on May 2, 1929. He was the founder and leader of the Përmet Folk Group, known throughout Albania and abroad. After the departure of his family to the city of Korça, in 1935, he returned with his family to Përmet at the end of 1944. He organized his own folk group, with which he also participated in the first National Folk Festival, in Tirana, in 1952, being awarded with the first prize as a popular instrumentalist. In 1954, he recorded his first song with clarinet, and then in 1966 he recorded at Radio-Tirana, among other things, three clarinet plays, to continue his quality work with his group all the way. He has participated in all local and national folklore festivals and was regarded as the last of the masters of the great tradition of clarinet playing of South Albania. Among the most prominent singers who sang along with Master Laver Bariu were Behije Roçi, Qemal Ponoçi, Jorgo Çulli, Ilia Nasi, Mentor Xhemali, Ylli Zeqiri and many others. His main music recordings are in the archive of Albanian Radio Television and in the Institute of Popular Culture.

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