People to people (P2P) study tour in Brussels

Representatives of the SEE Heritage members Gjirokastra Conservation and Development Organization (Albania), Expeditio (Montenegro) and Suburbium (Serbia), the CHwB Regional Office in Pristina, and SEE Heritage Secretary, took part in the People to people (P2P) study tour in Brussels (Belgium) on 29 March - 1 April 2011. The meeting was organized by the European Commission, DG Enlargement.

The aim of the study tour was to introduce to the participants the EU policies and programmes related to cultural heritage, and to offer them exchange and networking opportunities among themselves and with other European-level civil society organisations active in this field.

Leaded by Mr Loïc Defaye, Project Manager in the P2P Programme, the participants visited the EU institutions - EC buildings and the European Parliament. Ms Monica Urian de Sousa, Programme Manager in the DG Education and Culture and Mr Michel Chapuis, Programme Officer in the DG Research and Innovation, presented the overview of the EU policies and programmes in the field of cultural heritage, while Mr Andrea Battista from the Office of the EUSR in Kosovo, introduced the participants to the work of the EUSR in Kosovo in the field of cultural heritage. Mr Henk Visser, Programme Manager in the DG Enlargement, spoke about the European Commission support to civil society in candidate potential candidate countries.

The achievements and new perspectives of the Ljubljana Process were presented by Mr Mikhael de Thyse from the Directorate for Culture and Cultural Heritage in the Council of Europe and Mr Wenceslas de Lobkowicz, Advisor for Inter-cultural Dialogue and Cultural Heritage in the DG Enlargement. Mr Mikhael de Thyse also presented the work of the Council of Europe in the field of cultural heritage. Mr Matteo Rosati, Programme Officer in the UNESCO Office in Venice (Italy), presented the activities of the UNESCO in the field of cultural heritage in South-Eastern Europe, while the work of CSOs at the European level was illustrated by the example of Europa Nostra, by Mr Piet Jaspaert, Board Member of the Europa Nostra.

Participants had opportunity to hear about good practices projects financed by the EC, and each national delegation had a meeting with the relevant Desk Officer within DG Enlargement of the European Commission.

To downoad presentations from the study tour, follow the link http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/taiex/dyn/taiex-events/library/detail_en.jsp?EventID=44684