CULTURAL HERITAGE: - Macedonian Information Centre

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expressed gratitude to Minister Bekiri for the excellent organization of
the conference and the hospitality in beautiful Ohrid, the main attraction
of the country and the cradle of Macedonian culture.
Ms. Rivier, assistant director general of UNESCO, in her address on
behalf of the Organization, greeted all the participants and emphasized the
important role of such regional meetings, as well as the application of the
UNESCO Convention in the domain of protection of cultural heritage.
Ms. Rivier stressed that the Convention on protection of underwater
heritage is also very important and appealed to the member countries
that have not yet ratified it to do so in order to make it effective.
The Round Table of the ministers of culture began with the
introductory presentation of Minister Bekiri who expressed his pleasure
that the Republic of Macedonia was the host to the Third Ministerial
Conference on Cultural Heritage held in a friendly and constructive
atmosphere. He expressed particular gratitude to the Sector of Culture of
the UNESCO Regional Bureau in Venice and to the Italian Government
for the strong support and understanding that they extend to the countries
in South-East Europe in their efforts and aspirations for preserving and
promoting their mutual cooperation. Mr. Bekiri emphasized that the so
far regional meetings have been inspiring and giving new possibilities
for the realization of many beautiful relations and events in the Region,
thus enriching and intensifying the communication among the countries
in South-East Europe in all the areas, particularly in the domain of
culture and cultural heritage. The Minister also gave concrete examples of
projects that have been successfully accomplished in the period between
the conferences in Venice and in Ohrid with the assistance of the Italian
Government and UNESCO, like: the realized training program for
directors and managers of museums of modern art with the support of the
Italian regions of Toscana and Umbria; the restoration and conservation
training for modern art organized by the Veneto Region, as well as the
beginning of the project on cultural heritage and cultural tourism of the
countries of the Region within the Fund founded last year during the
Venice Conference.
Minister Bekiri also mentioned the pilot project on education and
culture that the Italian Government started to realize in Macedonia in
cooperation with the International Management Group, which consists of
financial and professional support to the Museum of Modern Art in Skopje,
assistance to the protection and valorization of the archaeological sites
in Skupi, Heraclea, and Stobi, support to the process of decentralization
and support to the UNESCO regional center for digitalization of cultural
heritage.
In his presentation, the Minister listed several important regional
meetings that our country had in the last two years in the frameworks