The Value of Cultural Heritage

COST Action IS 1007 / Investigating Cultural Sustainability Meeting in Skopje

Organized by the Centre for Culture and Cultural Studies (CCCS), from 2 to 4 September 2013 at the Faculty of Law at the University “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje was held the meeting of  COST Action IS 1007 / Investigating Cultural Sustainability under the title The Value of Cultural Heritage.
The aim of the meeting was to give an overview of the relations between heritage and memory, identity and place, and the value of heritage for social cohesion, economic viability and good governance. It was concluded that this two topics (relations and value) are important for cultural sustainable development at local, regional, national and transnational levels.
During the meeting the participants identified interdependence between the protection of cultural heritage and the politics of memory, the creation of identity and sense of place. It was perceived that the cultural heritage can be seen as a tool that provides social cohesion and collective identification, impetus for economic growth and strategies for good governance. Thus, this COST meeting was concentrated on both, the theoretical issues about the relationship between cultural heritage and community and the practical questions of how cultural heritage serve the society in order to provide a benefit to people’s daily lives.
Participants at the meeting were welcomed by Prof Dr. Katriina Soini, the project coordinator, and the members of the Scientific Committee Prof. Dr. Loreta Georgievska-Jakovleva and Prof. Dr. Mishel Pavlovski.
At the meeting the keynote presenters was: Dr. Milan Popadic, University of Belgrade, Serbia; Dr. Molly Steinlage, UNESCO and Dr. Claske Vos, University of Amsterdam
The working groups was engaged at following topics:
WG1: Inventory of distinct approaches to culture, development and sustainability mapping of existing models of culture in various research and development projects; Comparisons between the various uses and meanings of culture in various contexts and sustainability models; Synthesis of different meanings and functions of culture, sustainability and development; Proposals for framing culture in sustainable development; Identification of research needs for the future.
WG 2: Inventory of policy practices that promote a cultural approach in national, regional and local development with cooperation among practitioners (NGOs, civil servants, politicians); Comparison of these practices (why they were successful, how they dealt with culture); Analysis and synthesis of the practices; Descriptions of best practices that take culture into consideration; Identification of future research needs;
The WG 3:Inventory of sets of cultural indicators (local, national, international); Comparison, classification and evaluation of the current sets of indicators; Exploration of new assessment methodologies for cultural sustainability; Design of new frameworks for assessing cultural sustainability; Identification of future research needs.
An important part of the work was the preparation of books: Re-imagining Europolis: Art, Creativity and Cultural Sustainability; The Place of Heritage, Identity and Memory; Territorialisation. Place Based Approaches to Sustainable Regional Development and Human-nature Interface.
There were two Special sessions: Food and Cultural Sustainability and Arts and Visualizing Cultural Sustainability.
Off program included: Visiting the St. Pantelejmon Monastery, Sightseeing of Old Bazaar and Dinner at the restaurant Old house