date

June 21-23, 2008

place

Berat, Albania

An important step towards ensuring the sustainability of the network itself and thereby enabling it to pursue concrete steps towards the preservation and promotion of the region's cultural heritage was taken at the meeting. The members agreed to formalize the network through the legal registration of its headquarters in Montenegro to ensure that the network is equipped with the proper tools to carry out its mission to preserve and promote the entire region's cultural heritage.

The conference theme, "Cultural Heritage Tourism as a Tool for Sustainable Development", was expounded upon through country presentations of the current situation facing each nation in regards to cultural heritage tourism coupled with two professional lectures delivered by Professor Richard Hodges, the Scientific Director of Butrint Foundation and Professor Frank Matero of the University of Pennsylvania. Significant threats, the most prominent of which is the potential destruction of cultural heritage resources through the irresponsible development of said tourism, emerged through the network's discussions. The inter-experiential exchange among countries that have enjoyed varying levels of experience with this topic proved to be invaluable for all the participants, particularly those suffering from the most underdeveloped cultural heritage tourism strategies. The inclusion of local communities in the development of cultural heritage tourism was deemed one of the most important preventative measures to be taken to control for this threat. Although an absolute formula for success does not exist, it was concluded that local and central governmental institutions together with civil society and local communities must adapt sustainable cultural tourism strategies tailored to each country and to each site, but simultaneously abiding by a larger, global framework. The motto "think globally, act locally" must be applied to cultural heritage tourism.

In a response to these threats, the SEE Heritage Network concluded that it must act by monitoring governmental institutions, tourism operators as well as local communities to ensure that the utilization of cultural heritage resources for tourism in South East Europe is carried out parallel to the preservation of these resources.

results

organisation

participants

ALBANIAN NATIONAL TRUST, from Albania,

MJAFT! Movement, from Albania,

BUTRINT FOUNDATION/ ALBANIAN HERITAGE CENTRE,from Albania,

CHwB, Regional office Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

EC MA NDRYSHE, from Kosovo,

FRACTAL, from Serbia,

SUBURBIUM, from Serbia,

EXPEDITIO from Montenegro,

NOTAR from Montenegro,

PROJEKTOR - Centre for Cultural Heritage, from Montenegro

PRO TORPEDO, from Croatia