Kulturarv utan gränser

16 January 2013

Annual Newsletter

An eventful year for Cultural Heritage without Borders (CHwB) has been completed and a new one has just begun. A lot happened in 2012 and here are some examples of activities that we are proud of and want to tell you about.

Albania
School projects - in the World Heritage town of Gjirokastra in Albania CHwB organized several workshops for schools with both primary and secondary pupils spreading awareness about the city's heritage and engaging the younger generation.

For the fifth consecutive year CHwB organized two restoration camps in Gjirokastra with training in building conservation and heritage issues for some 90 architectural students, artisans and professionals from all over the Balkans.

Bosnia and Herzegovina
"Bridges to the Future" is a new EU supported restoration and education project that has started in the town of Stolac where innovative and interactive methods will highlight cultural heritage for children, young people and the general public.

Kosovo
Cultural development in municipalities in Kosovo will be prioritized for the first time thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding between CHwB, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Environment and seven municipalities. The model was developed by CHwB with a pilot municipality and was so successful that it now will be applied in the seven new ones. The aim is to protect, promote and develop the natural and cultural environment through local heritage plans linked to local development plans created with the active participation of local people and organizations.

A tourist information center "n'Dukagjin" was inaugurated in Kosovo and is situated in a traditional 'kulla' building renovated by CHwB as part of the project "See you in Dukagjin". The tourist center gives local and regional organizations opportunities to generate interest and build heritage tourism and thus contribute to socio-economic development in the area.

Regional museum networking and professional development
CHwB has in 2012 given continued support to the regional Balkan Museums Network which works to promote the development of museums to be more democratic and transparent institutions. A first workshop was held with women in senior positions in the cultural heritage sector, with the aim of strengthening the position of women and gender equality in their institutions.

Another network, the SEE Heritage with 24 NGOs in the cultural heritage field, now stands on its own feet after having received support from CHwB.
Like much else that CHwB does, the support contributes to intercultural dialogue and reconciliation.

Sweden
The travelling exhibition ‘1 +1 Life & Love’ was opened at the Museum Gustavianum in Uppsala during autumn 2012. The exhibition contains contributions from eleven Balkan museums from their individual exhibitions (the simultaneous exhibition project in 2011) and is a continuation of the cooperation between museums that started in 2006. Creating a common traveling exhibition has been part of the process of peace building and democracy in the Western Balkans.

Resource Network - more and more people want to get involved in cultural heritage. CHwB has started to build up a resource network of people, mainly from Sweden, with expertise on cultural issues – such as museologists, craftsmen, architects, project managers, urban planners, construction antiquarians. So far more than 60 people expressed their interest to engage in CHwB’s work.

CHwB has partnered with the Craft Lab, Gothenburg University and an exchange of traditional craft and professional experts will be involved.

CHwB’s ambition is to broaden the business and use the positive and good results from the Western Balkans. In this endeavor, CHwB entered into a new agreement with Sida to initiate cooperation on cultural issues with Belarus and explore possibilities for further cooperation.

Thank you!
Finally we want to thank you for all the generous donations we received during the year from many of you. These valuable contributions are an important addition to our business, mainly financed by grants from Sida, EU and private foundations. A warm thank you to you for the past year and welcome to a new one with Cultural Heritage without Borders!

Best regards,
Cultural Heritage without Borders
Margaret Husén
Secretary general

Stockholm January 16, 2013

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