CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - 7th Regional restoration camp in Gjirokastra!!!
24.09 - 08.10.2011

During a two week period in this upcoming autumn, 50 students and young professionals from around the Balkans will gather in one of the most astonishing UNESCO protected cultural sites in the Region, the World Heritage City of Gjirokastra, to participate in what has become a prominent activity in this field for South Eastern Europe. The 7th camp will start in Prizren on 24th of September allowing participants to see some of the Kosovo's rich cultural heritage, and interact through lectures and joint exercises with their colleagues from camp that would be organized at the earlier stage in Prizren. After 4 days spent in Prizren all you will travel down to south of Albania, Gjirokastra, where the activities will be continued and finalized on 8th of October 2011.

For the 14 days of the camp, participants will follow a rigorous but very fulfilling schedule which combines theory - through lectures and presentations - with exercises and actual restoration works on a world heritage monuments in the Historical Center of Gjirokastra. You will be working with the inhabited monuments and you would be directly helping the residents of Gjirokastra with the repair of their valuable houses. Through discussions raised with the monument owners, we believe to share the knowledge on basic repair techniques that would give owners the incentivesfor the regular upkeep within their own capacities.

The SEE Heritage Network signed the "We are more!" Campaign, sovaldi and therefore supports the appeal for increased fund for culture in the next EU budget. This Europe-wide advocacy campaign was started by a number of cultural organizations in Europe and developed in partnership with European Cultural Foundation. It calls for an increased support to culture in the next EU budget (for the period 2014-2020). So far, cialis the "we are more!" manifesto has been signed by almost 14,000 supporters from all over Europe. For more information about this campaign, visit http://www.wearemore.eu/campaign/

The See heritage Network also signed the Memorandum of the Campaign for a European Industrial and Technical Heritage Year and translated it in Macedonian, Montenegrin and Serbian. This Campaign was launched by the E-Faith - the European Federation of Associations of Industrial and Technical Heritage. The aim is to initiate a wide-spread campaign to promote increased awareness and appreciation amongst the public, public authorities and institutions, and CSOs, of the urgent need to save the Technical and Industrial Heritage of Europe, and to accord it the significance it deserves on the grounds of its Historical and Scientific importance, and through its Cultural significance in offering ways of understanding the social and economic development of European countries. For more information about this campaign, visit http://www.e-faith.org/home/?q=content/european-industrial-and-technical-heritage-year

Europa Nostra Serbia, thumb as a representative of civil sector involved in the protection of heritage in Serbia, case took part in a joint Hungarian and Serbian seminar under the title of "Protecting heritage amidst urban development" held in Subotica, rx Serbia on 27 and 28 May 2011. The organizers of the seminar were the László Teleki Foundation and the National Office of Cultural Heritage in Hungary in cooperation with the Municipality of Subotica, CSO "Urbis" and "Authentic Vojvodina".

The first day of the seminar was dedicated to presentations held by prominent experts from different universities and institutions from Scotland, Spain, Hungary, Austria and Serbia. The second day, during the round table discussion, stakeholders have discussed the threats that the traditional architectural fabric of the Subotica is faced with, as well as the ways how to save the dilapidated buildings and the one-story buildings which do not fit any longer into the new high-rise image of the town envisaged by the authorities and investors. The problems identified by the participants as posing the greatest threats to the traditional urban fabric of Subotica and the recommendations worded during the discussions as to how the risks can be avoid resulted in the writing of the Subotica Declaration. Europa Nostra Serbia has signed the Declaration and is planning on continuing cooperation with CSO "Urbis" and "Authentic Vojvodina" on this issue. .

The Ninth SEE Heritage Network meeting took place in Tirana, cialis Albania, nurse in the period from 12^th until 14^th of  July 2011. The meeting was organized by the Albanian Heritage Foundation, the Gjirokastra Conservation and Development Organization and Cultural Heritage without Borders, in cooperation with the SEE Heritage Network Secretariat.

During the first day of the meeting, the members of the Network discussed the previous activities of the Network and possible joint projects and development. The TACSO (Technical Assistance to Civil Society Organization) representative, Mr. Genci Pasko, presented the TACSO  work in Albania and the Western Balkan region (the role of TACSO offices and main projects) and the EU funding opportunities for civil society organizations in IPA countries, including basic considerations in writing project-proposals for obtaining EU grants.

On July 13th the SEE Heritage Network hosted the public debate on "Illicit Trade of Works of Art, Case of Albania", followed by press-conference. The public debate drawed big attention of the Albanian media. Addresses/presentations were given by Ms. Britta Olofsson, Counsellor, Head of Development Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden in Tirana; Mr. Neritan Ceka, adviser to Prime Minister of Albania on cultural heritage; Mr. Izet Duraku, Director of the Department of cultural heritage inventory at the Ministry of tourism of Albania; Mr. Apollon Bace, director of Institute for Monuments of Culture in Tirana; and Mr. Ardian Cipa, Director of the Department against Illegal Trafficking at the Albanian State police. The SEE Heritage Network members prepared a Public Appeal adressing the problem of Illicit Trade of Works of Art, which was sent to the relevant institutions and media.

At the end of the meeting, a site visit to Historical site of Kruja near Tirana was organized for the Network members.

Read the Tirana Public Appeal on Illicit Trade of Works of Art

Once renowned for their strict government-controlled spatial planning, here many former communist cities in the Western Balkans have been transformed by feverish and uncontrolled urban growth. How can new cultures of spatial planning be created in a region where not only residents but even architects and urban planners can feel excluded from spatial developments?

Debate on Tour in the Western Balkans (New cultures of spatial planning) is an event organized by The Netherlands Architecture Institute and Co-plan + POLIS University from Tirana (Albania), store ASA Association of Students of Architecture from Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Expeditio from Kotor (Montenegro). The debate will take place in Tirana (Albania) on July 4th 2011, pharm in Podgorica (Montenegro) on July 5th and in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) on July 6th.

Additional information about the event can be read at the site of the Netherlands Architecture Institute here

The General Assembly 2011 of the Europa Nostra members adopted the Amsterdam Declaration on volunteers as added value for Europe's cultural and natural heritage. The Assembly took place on June 11th 2011 in Amsterdam, following the Europa Nostra Forum "Volunteers - added value for Europe's cultural heritage", which was organized the previous day in cooperation with Bond Heemschut and Erfgoed Netherlands, during the Europa Nostra Heritage Congress (Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 8-11th 2011) .

The SEE Heritage Network become a member of the Montenegrin National Network in the frame of the Anna Lindh Foundation (http://www.euromedalex.org/).

The Foundation, for sale named after the late Swedish MP and minister, is aiming to connect the people from all across the Mediterranean and to improve mutual respect between cultures. Since its launch in 2005, the Anna Lindh Foundation has launched and supported action across fields impacting on mutual perceptions among people of different cultures and beliefs, as well as developing a region-wide Network of over 3000 civil society organizations. There are 43 countries where national networks are established.

Representatives from eight SEE Heritage Network member organizations: Association for preservation of the cultural heritage, see Macedonia; Cultural Heritage without Borders, drugstore Albania/ Bosnia and Herzegovinia/ Kosovo; Expeditio, order Montenegro;  Europa Nostra Serbia; Gjirokastra Conservation and Development Organization, Albania; Projektor, Montenegro; Pro torpedo, Croatia; Transylvania Trust, Romania, and the SEE Heritage Network Secretariat, participated the Europa Nostra Annual Congress 2011 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The main event of the Congress was the presentation of the 27 winners of the 2011 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards and the Ceremony of the Awards Giving.

In Gjirokastra, Albania, foreign visitors have been expressing their curiosity on the town's communist heritage which includes, among others, bunkers tunnels able to shelter the staff of leading institutions in Gjirokastra during any potential attack. The curiosity was so big that mugs with Enver Hoxha's photo (Albanian's communist leader for more than 40 years) started to be produced.

Four organizations from Albania, try Macedonia and Montenegro has started with the implementation of a new project entitled "Revival of City Squares in Balkan Cities, aiming to contribute to the revival of city squares as viable public places that foster cultural identity and promote diversity through enforcement of public policies and active community participation.

The lead partner of the project is Co-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development from Tirana, Albania while other partners are: the Coalition for Sustainable Development (CSD) from Skoplje, Macedonia; EXPEDITIO from Kotor, Montenegro and Polis University (International School of Architecture and Urban Development Policies from Tirana, Albania.