The Ninth Annual Meeting of the South East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place in Venice, Italy, on 18-19 June 2015. The event is co-organized by the Regional Centrе for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europe (Sofia, Bulgaria) and the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (Venice, Italy).

The South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage was established in 2007 with the support of UNESCO and the 9^th meeting is the latest in a series of meetings in Arbanassi, Bulgaria, June 2007; Safranbolu, Türkiye, May 2008; Zagreb, Croatia, April 2009, Râmnicu-Vâlcea, Romania, May 2010; Belgrade, Serbia, May 2011; Athens, May 2012; Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2013; Limassol, Cyprus, May 2014.

The Experts Network serves as a regional platform for sharing knowledge and good practices on the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in South-Eastern Europe, as well as to support regional cooperation on this topic.

As discussed during the last year’s meeting in Limassol, the main thematic topic for this session will especially focus on the coordination between the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and other relevant UNESCO conventions, in particular the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Titled “Intangible cultural heritage and the diversity of cultural expressions: synergies and coordination between UNESCO 2003 and 2005 Conventions” the meeting will focus on 3 main areas of discussion:

Round-table 1: Implementing the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage: progress, experiences and challenges;

Round-table 2: The UNESCO 2003 and 2005 Conventions: convergences and coordination;

Round-table 3: Intangible cultural heritage, foodways and sustainable development in the year of EXPO 2015;

The meeting will be attended by experts in representation of the ministries of culture and/or other relevant national authorities of Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria, Croatia; Cyprus; Italy; Greece; Montenegro; Republic of Moldova; Romania; Serbia; Slovenia; The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; and Türkiye. International experts and UNESCO staff will also participate in the meeting.

Useful Links:
Programme
The South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage 
UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe

Photograph: “Lefkara Laces or Lefkaritika, Intangible Cultural Heritage of Cyprus”
Photographs: UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (Venice, Italy)