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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Connecting seven Danube fortresses

Smederevo, 4 June 2010

A project to connect seven fortresses built on the banks of the Danube River into one whole was presented at the “Danube Fortresses – Opportunities and Challenges” national conference held in Smederevo today. A declaration was passed concerning the development project “Cultural Path – Fortresses along the Danube”.

Author: Tanjug

Final activities related to the pilot project “Fortresses along the Danube” were presented. The project is being implemented as part of a regional UNESCO programme for the cultural heritage of South East Europe “Cultural Heritage – A Bridge towards a Shared Future”.

The fortresses are located in Bac, Novi Sad, Belgrade, Smederevo, Veliko Gradiste, Golubac and Kladovo. The linking of these fortresses will make it possible to draw on the economic and social potential of these areas for further development.

Minister of Culture Nebojsa Bradic stated that his Ministry’s position is that cultural heritage must be preserved and cared for in order to harness its potential, adding that the loss of cultural heritage is a loss of identity.

Author: Tanjug

Without cultural heritage it would be impossible to think of tourism development in Serbia. The Ministry’s purpose in the initiation of this project was to contribute to the government’s development strategies and to put the focus directly on culture rather than treating it is a marginally important area, he explained.

The most significant result of the pilot stage of this project was the building of human and institutional capacities and networking of all government levels, especially in local communities which recognised heritage as their resource in the strategy of sustainable development.

As a result of these efforts, a network of local organisations equipped for further development of the project was created, the minister said and thanked UNESCO and the Italian government for providing financial assistance for the project.

Bradic told UNESCO that the goal of the project is to link southeastern Europe with the entire Danube region, whose development is envisaged by the comprehensive EU strategy for the Danube region.

Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Bozidar Djelic announced that €25 million will be used for the realisation of Danube-related projects next year.

Djelic declared that the last big conference dedicated to the elaboration of the Danube strategy will be held next week in Constanta, Romania. Until then, the Serbian government will adopt this project.

Sinisa Sesum

Author: Tanjug

Senior advisor at UNESCO office in Venice Sinisa Sesum confirmed that UNESCO will be ready to respond to new proposals which this and other similar initiatives will bring up.

He underlined that UNESCO is an active partner in the formulation and implementation of projects envisaged by the 2004 regional initiative, which also includes “Fortresses along the Danube”.

The conference gathered representatives of proper ministries, seven local self-governments, the German Organisation for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the Serbian Institute for Protection of Monuments of Culture and the Tourist Organisation of Serbia.