Announcement and Call for Attendance: International Conference „Rural Heritage of South East Europe“

SEE Heritage is a network of non-government organizations from the region of South East Europe, established in 2006, and currently comprised of more than 20 member organizations. The Mission of the SEE Heritage Network is to work towards protecting and promoting the common cultural heritage with the aim of encouraging sustainable development of the region, and the Vision – South East Europe (SEE) as a region where people cooperate, understand and respect each other on the basis of their cultural differences, believing that cultural, ethnic and religious diversity is a valuable resource.

SEE Heritage selected this conference topic because rural heritage represents a significant segment of cultural heritage and a unique testimony of the history of a society. In spite of its significance, the value and potential of rural heritage and authentic cultural landscape are often not recognized. Rural heritage faces serious risks: on one hand, due to deterioration of a large number of abandoned villages, and on the other hand, due to the extremely rapid urbanization which threatens a large portion of the valuable rural heritage and landscape.

The main aspiration of this conference is to draw attention to the significance of rural heritage, to demonstrate positive examples of care for rural heritage in the region, as well as to start a discussion on improvement of protection and management of this valuable resource in the entire region of South East Europe.