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Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes | 32 Member States, 33 Cultural Routes
Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Newsletter September 2018

8th Annual Advisory Forum on Cultural Routes (Görlitz, Germany)
200 participants, 30 countries, 25 certified Cultural Routes and over 20 cultural routes projects attended this year’s Annual Advisory Forum on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.

The theme of the 2018 edition of the Forum was "Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe connecting cultural values, heritage sites and citizens: strategies and synergies in a global perspective". The 8th Annual Advisory Forum was organised on 26-28 September 2018 under the auspices of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes in co-operation with the City of Görlitz, the Saxon Ministry of the Interior and the German Federal Foreign Office and with the support of the European Institute on Cultural Routes in Luxembourg.

The Forum explored concrete possibilities of co-operation between the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme and other International Organisations (EU, UNESCO, OEI, ICOMOS). It was also an occasion to discuss developing new initiatives and partnerships, as well as a platform for exchange of good practices.

The programme can be found online here.
Certification ceremonies at the occasion of the 8th Annual Advisory Forum on Cultural Routes (Görlitz, Germany)
Picture credits : Paul Glaser

During the Forum, official ceremonies took place to welcome two new member States of the EPA, the Republic of Turkey and the Holy See, as well as two new Cultural Routes certified by the Council of Europe in 2018, “Impressionisms Routes” and “Via Charlemagne”. On the occasion of the Annual Advisory Forum, the City of Görlitz officially became a member of the Via Regia, certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe since 2005.
Evaluation cycle 2018-2019: 10 certified Cultural Routes under evaluation; 12 cultural route networks applying for certification
The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe are subject of regular monitoring and three-year evaluation procedure through independent expert report and recommendations. This year, 10 certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe undergo the process of regular Council of Europe evaluation: the Viking Routes, Via Regia, the Cluniac Sites in Europe, the Routes of the Olive Tree, the European Route of Jewish Heritage, Transromanica, In the Footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson, the European Routes of Emperor Charles V, the Roman Emperors and Danube Wine Route, and Destination Napoleon.

Each year, the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme sees a growing number of cultural route networks applying for certification. For the 2018-2019 evaluation cycle, 12 applications were submitted: the Routes of Reformation, the European Route of Industrial Heritage, the Iron Curtain Trail, Liberation Route Europe, Le Corbusier Cultural Route, Places of Peace, Via Romea Germanica, the European Cultural Route of Saint Cyril and Methodius, the European Network of Historical Gardens, the European Pedagogues Route (Heloise), the European Route of Knowledge Francesco’s Ways and the Roman Roads in Europe.
Norway: First Routes4U project meeting for the Baltic Sea Region
On 6 and 7 September 2018, the first Routes4U meeting for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) took place in Oslo, Norway. More than 50 participants from national and regional institution belonging to EUSBSR, as well as representatives of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe crossing the EU macro-region, participated to identify the regional needs of the Baltic Sea Region in the framework of the Routes4U Project.

The programme can be found online here.
Montenegro: Forum “Economic Development Model based on Tourism – Challenges and Threats”
On 21-22 September 2018, the XXIII Regional Milocer Development Forum “Economic Development Model based on Tourism – Challenges and Threats” was held in Cetinje, Montenegro. Prime Minister of Montenegro participated in the event along with high level representatives of the Ministry of Culture, of the Ministry of Tourism and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A discussion panel was held on new ideas in Montenegrin Tourism, among which the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe as promoting a responsible, sustainable cultural heritage and tourism.

The programme can be found online here.
From our Cultural Routes: France (Cévennes National Park), 140 years of Robert Louis Stevenson’s travels
To celebrate the 140 years of Stevenson’s travels in the Cévennes mountains, a commemorative hiking tour was organized along the GR*70, from Alès to La Frégeyre. The programme included a visit of the Vallées Cévenoles Maison Rouge museum and thematic nights about the writer and the Cultural Route “In the Footsteps of R.L. Stevenson”.

The event was also an occasion to present an impressive initiative put into practice by the Network “In the Footsteps of Robert Louis Stevenson”: a navigation system for the visually impaired, called Openway. This audioguide allowed them to lead the way on an overnight walk up to the Observatory of the Cévennes National Park.
From our Cultural Routes: Azerbaijan, The European Route of Historic Thermal Towns General Assembly
Hosted in Galaalti, EHTTA members from all over Europe met from 30 May to 1 June 2018 for the association’s spring General Assembly.

On the occasion of this general assembly, EHTTA welcomed new associated member - Clermont Auvergne Métropole, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. Clermont Auvergne Métropole represents a spa resorts’ territory, including EHTTA’s member Royat – Chamalières, and is engaged in a process of development of the thermal and cultural offer of the whole territory. During the General Assembly in Azerbaijan, the European Route of Historic Thermal Towns also launched the new website www.ehtta.eu/.
From our Cultural Routes: Andorra, the Iron Route of the Pyrenees travel exhibition
The Iron Route of the Pyrenees started a travel exhibition “The Industrial Heritage of the Iron Route of the Pyrenees” which will go on from 7th July 2018 to 31st December 2019. This exhibition has been launched in the framework of the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage and will cross Andorra as well as France and Catalonia.

The programme can be found online here.
Cultural Routes in the press
EPA on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe
European Institute of Cultural Routes
Abbaye de Neumünster, 28 rue Münster
L-2160 Luxembourg
Tel. +352 24 12 50

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