© Belev
National Palace of Culture in Sofia (Bulgaria)

The meeting, organized by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture with the support of the UNESCO Venice Office, and in the presence of the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, will focus on “Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development”. Participating Ministers of Culture will be invited to present the respective policies and measures to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage in their respective countries, and to enhance this heritage as a driver for intercultural dialogue and sustainable development.

The conference has the objective to reinforce regional cooperation on capacity-building and the exchange of knowledge and good practices, in particular with regards to the UNESCO global initiative “Culture: a Bridge to Development”. The conference will also offer the opportunity to discuss on the ways to streamline the different cultural cooperation platforms at the ministerial level existing in the South-East European region.