On October 9, 2024, the Swiss Embassy and the Academy of Sciences in Tirana jointly organized an event to celebrate the legacy of the renowned Geneva-based researcher Eugène Pittard. The symposium coincided with the book launch of “The Last Journey of Eugène and Hélène Pittard to Albania.” Eugène Pittard is widely recognized in Albania for his humanitarian work during the 1920s and as the founder of the Albanian Red Cross. In 1921, he identified ceramic shards near Lake Prespa, which he classified as Neolithic, and later led an excavation in a cave near Tren in the Korça region. At the symposium, Prof. Albert Hafner highlighted Pittard’s archaeological contributions in Switzerland, linking them to recent Swiss-Albanian research conducted between 2020 and 2024 in Lin, on the shores of Lake Ohrid.
