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The Council of Ministers of Culture of South-East Europe - Enhancing Culture for Sustainable Development (CoMoCoSEE) is the unified platform for cultural cooperation in the region. Its 12 member countries include: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Türkiye. UNESCO – through its Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe - is an observer, together with the EU, the Council of Europe, Austria and Italy. Since the Council’s inception, the Organization has been committed to supporting this regional cooperation process on culture. 

On 6 December 2024, the CoMoCoSEE convened its eighth ministerial gathering in Herceg Novi, Montenegro, with the support of UNESCO. The Council confirmed its commitment to further enhance and strengthen regional cooperation in the field of culture on multilateral and bilateral levels - considering the diversity of culture in tandem with arts education as essential factors in achieving dialogue, improving neighbourly relations and fostering better cohesion in the region, in the spirit of mutual understanding, respect, peace and stability. 

Special attention was given to culture and arts education in South-East Europe, with a specific reference to education through exchanges, joint projects, and collaborative networks, as advocated for in the UNESCO Framework for Culture and Arts Education(UNESCO World Conference on Culture and Arts Education; Abu Dhabi, February 2024). 

“The theme of this year’s meeting ‘Culture and Art for Sustainable Development’, reflects a common vision of integrating cultural and artistic education into a wider social and educational framework,” stated Minister Vujović at the opening of the ministerial conference. By placing culture at the heart of our educational systems, we ensure its preservation and development, enabling it to respond to contemporary social challenges.

The meeting concluded with the adoption by the Council of the Herceg Novi Declaration, a powerful commitment to foster sustainable and inclusive cultural policies for the future. Acknowledged was the need to continue and further strengthen the cooperation among the Council member countries, as well as to advance the MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration, which emphasised the need for a new cultural contract for the digital age. The declaration stressed the importance of supporting the implementation of the “Pact for the Future”, with a specific focus on Action 11, which aims to protect and promote culture as an integral component of sustainable development in order to advance the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

The ministers unanimously agreed on the importance of embedding culture and arts within formal, informal and non-formal education systems. In this regard, they underscored the necessity to reinforce cultural policies in education, promoting cultural skills and competencies, supporting culture and art educators and practitioners. Among the values highlighted were those of enhancing cross-cultural cooperation in this field, leveraging digital transformation, and addressing challenges to ensure equity and inclusion. The ministers ultimately advocated for fostering innovation and creativity by integrating digital technologies and artificial intelligence.

As stated in the ‘UNESCO Framework for Culture and Arts Education’, culture and the arts are integral to the holistic and inclusive development, resilience, and overall well-being of individuals and societies. Their inclusion in education has a transformative power that extends beyond the classroom; it engages citizens to value their heritage, contribute to the creative economy, and advocate for social cohesion and mutual understanding. 

The Council reaffirmed its commitment, expressed in the Declaration adopted in Sofia on 17 May 2019, to develop the Cultural Cooperation Fund, in cooperation with UNESCO. At the conclusion of the meeting, Montenegro handed over the presidency of CoMoCoSEE to North Macedonia.