REPORT OF THE DISCUSSIONS We, the participants in the second regional Seminar of experts of South-East Europe on the problems related to inventories, to the establishment of Living Human Treasures systems and the education concerning the intangible cultural heritage (Safranbolu, Turkey 22-28 May 2008), representatives of our countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey, thank UNESCO and particularly its Office in Venice - Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (BRESCE), Section for Culture, for its support in the organization of this seminar. We are also grateful to the host country, Turkey, for having invited us in this marvelous city of Safranbolu, which is filled with remarqable examples of Ottoman architecture, inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1994. We would like to emphasize that this event, which follows the meeting organized in Arbanassi, Bulgaria in June 2007, represents an important new step and contribution with regard to the safeguarding of the rich and varied intangible cultural heritage of the Region, which is important both for the national identity of a country and for mutual understanding and dialogue among civilizations. We reiterate that the existence of the network of experts of South-East Europe created last year and expanded this year which convened in Safranbolu, is of great importance, in order to better coordinate the activities related to the identification, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement and transmission of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of the Region to future generations. In the course of our work we found that: - a lot of work is still to be done in the Region with regard to the identification of intangible cultural heritage, in order to safeguard its viability and transmission to the future generations; - there is a lack of homogeneity among the countries of the Region in the field of identification, documentation, research, safeguarding, protection, promotion, development and transmission of this heritage; - the organization of regular meetings of experts from the Region is of extreme importance both for each individual country as well as for the Region as a whole. During our discussion we pointed out that UNESCO s support, as well as the support of each Member State, is extremely important for the successful safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. This support takes the form of: - a clear national strategy with respect to the intangible cultural heritage; - adequate legislation; - an efficient coordination of different administrative, cultural and scientific institutions related to intangible cultural heritage, including NGOs and the civil society at the national and regional level.
Several issues have been identified in the course of the working session, namely: a) Inventories 1. The participants, whose countries have already ratified the UNESCO 2003 Convention, as well as Serbia, agreed on the fact that the inventory concerns the responsibility of each Member State. It was also understood that the inventory should be perceived as an operational tool of the Member State, in virtue of the stipulation of the UNESCO Convention of 2003 that says that the communities, the groups and the relevant non-governmental organizations will be able to contribute to identify various elements of intangible cultural heritage and will be able to profit from the existence of such a tool. Bosnia and Herzegovina, not having yet ratified the UNESCO Convention of 2003, was not able to make a statement on this subject; 2. As for the development of the inventories, there was consent on the fact that the criteria to be used are the elements of ICH, and this is essential to take into account the knowledge of bearers of knowledge and skills in each country; 3. With regard to the inventories, it was agreed that they have to be as concise as possible; 4. Concerning the relationship between the archives and the inventories, all the participants agreed on the fact that the archives contain the detailed information on the intangible cultural heritage while the inventories, being operational tools of the State, are instruments of synthesis based on this documentation supplemented and updates by investigations in the field. The necessity for the realization of these inventories was emphasized but, given the complexity of the subject; it was decided to postpone this matter to an upcoming meeting. b) Living Human Treasures 1. A need to encourage the establishment of national Living Human Treasures systems in all the countries in South-East Europe was evidenced during the Seminar in order to have a powerful instrument for the preservation and safeguarding of knowledge and the abilities of the bearers of knowledge and skills and the craftsmen of great talent, as well as to ensure transmission of this national heritage to younger generations. All the participants proposed to do their best in their respective Countries to establish such programs as soon as possible. The processes already begun and the experience shared and demonstrated in this field by Bulgaria and Turkey, were impressive and very much appreciated and could be useful as a frame of reference for the other countries in the Region; 2. The importance of exchanging the information regarding best practices concerning the establishment of national Living Human Treasures systems within the framework of this network of experts of the Region led to the organization of seminars of study on this specific subject. Bulgaria offered, as a focal point of the network of experts of the intangible cultural heritage of South- East Europe, to share its expertise in the field with the other countries.
c) Education 1. The importance of reinforcing the program of formal and/or non-formal education in the field of the intangible cultural heritage was also emphasized to try to ensure the recognition, respect and the development of the ICH among young people, and in society as a whole. To this end, the paramount role of the schools and museums were underlined. Each country proposed to sensitize its respective Government on this issue, following the example of Turkey which integrated into its official elementary and secondary school program, the study of intangible cultural heritage as an autonomous discipline; 2. Greece proposed that, within the network of experts of South-East Europe, a working group on this specific subject should be created in order to study in detail the question, to share experiences and best practices and to support the exchange of information between the countries of the Region; 3. In agreement with all the concerned institutions of the Region, a plan to establish common guidelines with all the countries of South-East Europe has to be made to ensure the coherence of the national educational programs of the countries in the Region; 4. The opportunity to create an UNESCO Chair was agreed upon for the study, teaching and research on intangible cultural heritage, with an aim of developing a network of universities and other cooperation agreements between institutions of higher education on an international, regional and sub- regional scale; 5. The possibility to create a strategy for the promotion of awareness among young people of the value of intangible cultural heritage by the means of an international campaign under the aegis of UNESCO has been considered.
CONCLUSIONS We, the participants in the second regional Seminar of experts on Intangible Cultural Heritage of South-East Europe, representatives of our countries, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey, based on exchanged opinions related primarily to the analysis of the situation in the different countries of South-East Europe represented in Safranbolu, have made the following general proposals: 1) In order to achieve an effective international co-operation in South-East Europe in the field of identification, safeguarding, promotion and transmission of the intangible cultural heritage, and because of the major impact that this process can generate at the local, national and international level, the following initiatives will be to undertaken: a) a better coordination of the strategies at the national and regional level, in particular with regard to the establishment of the inventories of intangible cultural heritage, the establishment of Living Human Treasures systems, as well as the installation of educational programs, specific training, awareness-raising and information programmes aimed at the general public and particularly young people; b) reinforcement of the designated national structures and their coordination with all the actors concerned, in close dialogue with the experts and bearers of the various forms of intangible cultural heritage, as well as with members of civil society; c) development of actions aimed at the diffusion, education and raising awareness of the values and importance of intangible cultural heritage, recognition and protection of the bearers of this heritage, as well as the transmission of knowledge and know-how; d) adhesion of all the countries of South-East Europe to the existing international instruments and in particular the ratification of the UNESCO Convention of 2003, as well as the establishment of legislation and suitable mechanisms of protection; e) establishment of inventories and recording of intangible cultural heritage and digitalization of the data; f) strengthening of the already existing training institution and/or the creation of a UNESCO Chair for the study, teaching and research on intangible cultural heritage, with the aim of developing a network of universities and other cooperation agreements between institutions of higher education on an international, regional and sub-regional level; g) support for the creation of UNESCO Category II Regional Center in Bulgaria.
2) In this context, concrete stages will be to consider: a) the establishment by each concerned Ministry, of a national focal point representative who can continue in a coherent way the work already started last year in the first regional seminar which took place in Arbanassi (Bulgaria); b) the confirmation of a focal point representative at the regional level and in particular the Institute of Folklore of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and its national Center for Intangible Heritage (Bulgaria) and later of the UNESCO Category II Regional Center, which is to be set up in the country, that would be in charge of the following tasks: - to establish an action plan based on the contributions of the experts of cultural heritage of the countries of South-East Europe, with particular regard to the development and the implementation of the inventories of the intangible cultural heritage; - to facilitate contacts and the exchange of information between the members of the network of experts of intangible cultural heritage of the countries of South-East Europe; - to support the organization of the meetings of stage and follow-up, in the fields of safeguarding, management, selection and documentation of ICH; - to encourage the development of common resources online and the use of an Intranet network accessible to the network of experts from South-East European countries as a tool of communication and coordination. 3) We the participants request from the UNESCO Office in Venice - Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (BRESCE), Section for Culture,: a) a continuation of its efforts to develop activities of institutional support, promotion, information and awareness raising for the safeguarding of ICH in the countries of South-East Europe; b) help for the countries of South-East Europe for the development of a common strategy aimed at the safeguarding and promotion of intangible cultural heritage which takes into account the protection of the rights and the interests of the communities and the individuals; c) act as a catalyst for institutional initiatives of exchange between the experts at national and regional levels, in the spirit of the UNESCO Convention of 2003; d) a continuation in the supporting of the organization of seminars of experts for intangible cultural heritage of South-East Europe. 4) We the participants, take note of and thank Croatia for the availability expressed regarding the possibility of hosting the next meeting of experts of South-East Europe on the intangible cultural heritage in 2009, as well as Romania which stated that it would accommodate the meeting in 2010; 5) We, participants, request the host Country to agree to present the recommendations determined by this network of experts on intangible cultural heritage of South-East Europe to the Third session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the UNESCO Convention of 2003, which will be held in Paris in next June as well as to the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage at its next session (Istanbul, Turkey, November 4, 2008);
6) We, participants, engage to transmit, via our respective Governments, the recommendations of this seminar to the sixth Summit of the Heads of States of South- East Europe which will take place in Athens on 13 June 2008, and to the Fifth Ministerial Conference which will be held in Bucharest on 20 September 2008, inviting them to take the necessary measures to implement and to make the intangible cultural heritage an instrument of mutual comprehension, for the respect of cultural diversity and the economic and social development.