91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ

The meetings are primarily aimed at representatives of ministries of culture and/or other authorities in charge of ICH safeguarding in the Member States under the purview of UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, namely, Albania; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria, Croatia; Cyprus; Greece; Malta; Republic of North Macedonia; Republic of Moldova; Romania; Serbia; Slovenia; and Türkiye. Experts representing relevant authorities from Austria and Italy are also invited as observers

The Network aims to enhance a common understanding of opportunities and challenges linked to the safeguarding of the ICH as a key asset of South-East European cultural diversity, serving as a regional platform for sharing knowledge and good practice. Since 2018, the annual meetings introduced a capacity-building approach on specific subjects and progressively extended attendance to other relevant experts from the region, to contribute more effectively to the advancement of ICH safeguarding.

This year, the 16^th Annual Meeting of the South-East European Experts Network on Intangible Cultural Heritage will take place in Sofia, Bulgaria from 19 to 21 October 2022, with a theme on from the policy perspective. Specifically, the meeting aims to:

• share knowledge and experiences in integrating living heritage into education in countries of the region from both the operational and policy perspectives
• develop capacities in formulating strategies, policies, and mechanisms and implementing tools in view of integrating living heritage into education at the national level
• identifying possible opportunities for reinforced regional cooperation in implementing the 2003 Convention and safeguarding ICH, with a special focus on reinforcing synergies with the education sectors
• deliberate on the future of the South-East European Experts Network

This year’s Annual Meeting of the South-East European Experts Network will be held back-to-back with the 2022 edition of the Training of trainers’ workshop for the European branch of the global network of facilitators in Intangible Cultural Heritage, sharing the same general theme. With a joint reflection day scheduled for 19 October 2022, the two networks are brought together to foster a thorough exchange for greater integration of living heritage in education at all levels.

The meeting will be hosted by the Regional Centre for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-East Europe under the auspices of UNESCO (based in Sofia, Bulgaria), and is organised in cooperation with UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, together with the UNESCO Living Heritage Entity.