© Museum of Republic of Srpska

The South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage was established in 2007 with the support of UNESCO, in order to support the implementation of the UNESCO 2003 Convention in South-East Europe. Annual meetings of the network took place in Arbanasi, Bulgaria, June 2007; Safranbolu, Turkey, May 2008; Zagreb, Croatia, April 2009, Râmnicu-Vâlcea, Romania, May 2010; Belgrade, Serbia, May 2011; Athens, Greece, May 2012; Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2013; Limassol, Cyprus, May 2014; Venice, Italy, June 2015; and Supetar, Croatia, June 2016.

These meetings contributed to enhance a common understanding of opportunities and challenges linked to the safeguarding of the ICH as a key asset of South-East European cultural diversity, as well as to develop institutional and professional capacities within the relevant national authorities serving as a regional platform for sharing knowledge and good practices.

During last year’s meeting in Croatia, participants agreed on focusing their annual meeting in 2017 on the issue of resource mobilization, fund-raising and partnerships for the financial sustainability of ICH safeguarding.

Experts are invited to participate in representation of the ministries of Culture and/or other relevant authorities of the Member States of the Council of Ministers of Culture of South-eastern Europe – Enhancing Culture for Sustainable Development (CoMoCoSEE), namely: Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria, Croatia; Greece; Republic of Moldova; Romania; Serbia; Slovenia; The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; and, Turkey.

Experts representing relevant authorities from Austria, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, and Malta are invited as observers.
International experts and UNESCO staff will also participate in the meeting.