December 12, 2019 - A round table entitled "Potentials of Cultural Heritage for Creating Cultural Routes of Montenegro" was held yesterday, December 11, at the Solidarity Gallery in Kotor.
The event organized NGO EXPEDITIO within the project "ROADS OF HERITAGE - Cultural Heritage Potentials for Creating Cultural Routes of Montenegro," which was supported by the Ministry of Culture as part of a public call for proposals for NGO projects under the Diversity of Independent Expressions Program cultural scenes".
EXPEDITIO's expert Aleksandra Kapetanovic emphasized the HERITAGE ROADS project aims at improving the presentation of immovable cultural heritage. Its goal is also to improve the tourist offer in Montenegro through the affirmation of cultural heritage as a potential for creating national cultural routes, but also for joining regional and European cultural routes.
Cultural routes related to cultural heritage and tourism are themed tourist routes that may be physically linked but often serve as a network of similar tourist sites.
"For many years now, they have been engaged internationally by organizations active in the field of cultural heritage and tourism. ICOMOS, the International Council for Monuments and Monuments, even has a charter on cultural routes, which was adopted in 2008, which clearly defines the criteria for cultural routes," explained Kapetanović.
Ministry of Culture representative Tijana Vujovic spoke about initiatives related to this area in Montenegro.
"The cultural diversity and identity diversity of Montenegro are initially visible in local communities that have their history and tradition of heritage in rural areas. Different rural communities also have different cultural specificities, which in particular necessitate access to their tourist valorisation. The largest number of sites supported through the Council of Europe's Cultural Routes program is located in our area, which, through the international protection and promotion mechanisms offered by this program, have been able to enhance the tourist offer. The Ministry of Culture, through cooperation with partners at the local and international level, has recognized that local communities in Montenegro have the most potential for inclusion in olive tree routes and wine routes," Vujovic said.
NGO EXPEDITIO presented the results of the ROUTES OF THE HERITAGE project, including the recognized potentials of cultural heritage for the creation of cultural routes, as well as publications published within the edition of the Cultural Route of Montenegro.
Apart from the representative of the Ministry of Culture of Montenegro Tijana Vujovic, Snežana Derviškadić and Milena Filipović - representatives of the Regional Cooperation Council and Svetlana Vujačić from the Center for Sustainable Tourism Initiatives spoke at the roundtable.
These presentations were followed by a discussion on the potential of cultural heritage for the creation of national cultural routes in Montenegro. There was also a discussion on further steps in this field.
Source: Radio Kotor
