Resolution
We, decision-makers, experts and civil society actors from Albania, Greece, Kosovo and the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia who participated in the international conference
“Historic Cities – Our Common European Heritage”, held on 18 May 2012 in the World
Heritage City of Gjirokastra, Albania, as part of the regional project “European Values in
Heritage” funded under the Civil Society Facility of the European Commission
having reviewed and reascertained ourselves of the immense and irretrievable
cultural values of our historic cities which constitute a key element of our identities;
having exchanged our expertise and experiences in the fields of promoting economic
development and management of historic city centers;
reaffirming the important role which artisan and craftsmen workshops have for both
vibrant historic city centers and the expert restoration of historic buildings;
recognizing that the rich body of European conventions, guidelines, recommendations
and other policy documents concerning the preservation and development of historic city
centers provides an excellent basis for deepening European integration in this field;
celebrating our historic city centers as a Common Heritage which connects all people
and nations of the Balkans embodying cultural interpenetration and multi-ethnic and multireligious societies through hundreds of years of shared history;
emphasizing that our historic city centers are an integral part of the European Cultural
Heritage, and in some cases the World Heritage, which the pre-accession and accession
countries aspire to introduce into the European Union as our unique and genuine contribution
to the European identity;
acknowledging that the historic city centers in the Western Balkans face a number of
serious problems which call for stronger, more systematic and coordinated efforts for their
safeguarding;
recognizing the important contributions made by civil society organizations in the
Western Balkans to the preservation, revitalization and promotion of historic city centers both
on national and international level;
expressing our gratitude to the European Commission for its commitment and support
to strengthen the cooperation between governments and civil society organizations;
call upon our governments, both local and national, in order to safeguard this important
heritage for future generations:
- To produce more active policies for the integration of the cultural heritage on the
development of the regions by means of cultural tourism and encouraging traditional craft.
-
To improve the level of management and quality of the public institutions which
administer the cultural heritage and to settle standards on the level of the EU countries
regarding the qualification of the personnel and the restoration quality.
- to improve cooperation among all institutions involved in the preservation and
development of historic city centers,
- to further strengthen the legal and administrative regulatory framework governing the
protection and management of historic city centers, including their implementation and
enforcement;
- to give a higher priority for the preservation and revitalization of historic city centers in
the state and municipal budgets;
- to improve cooperation with Civil Society Organizations as partners different in authority
but equal in expertise and commitment, and with functions not competitive, but
complementary to those of the state;
- to improve the general education about the cultural aesthetic and economic values of
historic city centers in schools and universities, as well as among the general public;
- to exhaust all options for international exchange, cooperation and partnerships in the
fields of youth, science, culture and municipalities;
- to improve conditions, where appropriate, for the absorption of available EC funds,
especially IPA, through the provision of co-funding budgets and the creation of project
management capacities;
encourage the European Commission and the European Parliament
- to stronger emphasize the cultural dimension of Europe in their relations with the preaccession and accession countries of the Western Balkans;
- to increase efforts for European integration through cultural exchange, immersion, and
breaking through persisting isolation of the Western Balkans within Europe;
- to continue to strengthen viable civil society organizations in order to enable them to play
an indispensable role in the public life of our countries;
request the international donor community
- to fully recognize culture and heritage as important factors for economic development,
especially tourism which is the biggest and growing economic sector worldwide, but also
for education, and to adequately reflect this importance in their policies, programs and
budgets;
invite UNESCO and ICOMOS
- to show a higher visibility and to assume a more pro-active role in pursuing international
standards of heritage preservation;
- to expand their cooperation with Civil Society Organizations in our countries in the field of
preservation and revitalization of historic city centers;
- to provide stronger guidance in the implementation of policies and guidelines for the
preservation of historic city centers.
Gjirokastra, 18 May 2012