President Türk at the Regional Summit Forum of the Heads of State of South-East Europe

Cetinje, 4.6.2009  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, today attended the Eighth Regional Summit Forum of the Heads of State of South-East Europe in Cetinje, held under the title "Managing Cultural Heritage Diversity and its Promotion for the Purposes of Tourism". President Türk was accompanied by the Minister of Culture, Majda Širca.

After the reception given by the host of the forum, the President of Montenegro, Filip Vujanoviæ, Dr Türk attended the first plenary session in the morning, at which he addressed the forum's participants. In his address, he spoke about culture as the oldest element of human history, which is, at the same time, also an important element in building peace. He described culture as an ongoing process with its own origin, current experience and significant future. "When we speak about cultural heritage, we are not speaking only about a remote past, but also about our current attitude towards culture and our future cultural destiny," he explained.

President Türk stressed that the preservation and strengthening of our cultural heritage should be ensured in a practical and organised manner. We should find methods for exchanging experiences and knowledge, and give our support to best practice, said the President, emphasising the extreme importance of international organisations such as the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) and the Council of Europe. According to President Türk, culture is also becoming increasingly important for contemporary tourism.

The countries of South Eastern Europe need to take serious steps towards preserving their cultural heritage, Dr Türk said. Slovenia is committed to this goal by participating in the Regional Programme for Cultural and Natural Heritage in South East Europe (RPSEE), which has been carried out as a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Commission since 2003. During its EU presidency, Slovenia initiated the so-called Ljubljana process, which is carried out within the regional RPSEE programme and represents the current stage of the process of cultural heritage renovation in the countries of South Eastern Europe (in the period 2008-2010).

President Türk added that, during its chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Slovenia planned to organise an international conference from 6 to 7 November 2009, focusing in particular on the possibilities of continuing the Ljubljana process after its formal conclusion in 2010, alongside the presentation of projects successfully realised.

Participants in the Regional Forum are expected to adopt the Cetinje Declaration on the Management of Cultural Heritage and Tourist Promotion at the second plenary session.