A celebration of the 200th anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen on April 2, 2005, received National Television news coverage for the Seventh-day Adventist Elbasan church plant. More than 70 people attended the celebration organised by church planters Genti and Sanda Thomollari. The program included a presentation by Genti on the life of Andersen, and a review of the themes of his literature, by Sanda. Children from the 'community children's program' performed a drama enacting Andersen's story, The Princess and the Pea.

Many of those who attended were community people who have been involved in the wide range of community programs which Genti and Sanda have offered. Representatives of the city council and the Municipal Arts and Cultural Council also attended.

"The celebration of Anderson's 200th anniversary seemed to capture the media's interest. Five television stations attended the event," said Thomollari. "Getting the name of the church known in Elbasan as a church that offers a wide variety of activities is one of our church planting strategies," he added. "This will certainly help."

The National Television has recently given considerable negative coverage to religious groups which have commenced working in Albania since the fall of communism. This publicity followed the suicide of a number of teenagers reportedly connected with church groups. The next community event is a program for parents on teenage suicide and how to recognise the signs of distress in their children and safeguard them from suicide. [Editor: Barbara Rice for ANR/APD]