Vilnius hosts the 6th Cultural Routes Annual Advisory Forum
The representatives of the European Federation of Saint James Way participated on October 26 and 27, 2016 in the VI Annual Consultative Forum, co-organized by the Extended Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA), the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, and the European Institute of Cultural Routes in Luxembourg.
The 6th Annual Consultative Forum analyzed the recent expansion of the Program, highlighting both the challenges and the opportunities. The main themes of two days of interactive workshops and discussions were “Expanding geographical coverage and launching new alliances” and “Developing new themes and practices” for the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Program. The Forum discussed trends and challenges in relation to Cultural Routes, providing a platform to share experiences, review progress, analyze professional practices, launch new initiatives and develop partnerships across Europe and beyond.
An award ceremony for the fortified cities of the Greater Region, the 32nd Council of Europe Cultural Route certified in 2016, and the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Council of Europe and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (OMT) were among the best moments of the event.
The Forum discussed trends and challenges in relation to Cultural Routes
The conclusions of the Forum of exchanges held during the two thematic workshops were incorporated into the “Vilnius Roadmap”, which sets out the guidelines for future activities of the Council of Europe’s Cultural Routes Program.
The Annual Consultative Forum 2016 was attended by more than 200 participants from more than 30 countries, representatives of the Member States and observers of the Partial Extended Agreement on Cultural Routes, representatives of the certified cultural routes of the Council of Europe, candidate projects and international organizations (European Union , OMT, ICOMOS), NGOs, local and regional authorities, academics and professionals in the cultural tourism sector.
