January 23, 2003

The recent posting from International Forum Bosna regarding the
rebuilding of cultural monuments in BiH was very interesting, and I
am pleased to see that there is a continuing interest in this
important issue. I would like to inform the authors of the appeal as
well as all interested readers of a project that supports the goal of
cultural heritage reconstruction and protection.

Since November 2001, the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
presence in BiH has been supporting a project on Annex 8 of the
Dayton Peace Agreement (Commission to Preserve National Monuments)
and the role of cultural heritage in a multiethnic, post-conflict
region. Over 150 cultural heritage experts (architects,
archaeologists, museum specials, preservationists, etc.),
representatives from the government and civil society, and interested
citizens have participated in a series of 5 workshops and many
additional informal meetings. The goal of these workshops was to
identify ways to support the implementation of Annex 8 legislation by
bridging the gap between the relevant authorities, experts and
citizens.

Throughout these workshops, informal meetings and conversations, two
complementary approaches have been developed to address these issues.
First, the participants agreed that they want to develop a state-
level cultural heritage association, to create a network that will
inform BiH citizens and people outside BiH of the country's cultural
heritage. This association will be the first of its kind in BiH, and
will play an important role in lobbying authorities for cultural
heritage support. The participants have taken the initial steps in
organizing and registering the association, and plan to complete this
process in the near future.

Additionally, the project group has applied for membership in Europa
Nostra, the pan-European cultural heritage network. Europa Nostra was
very pleased to learn of the initiative, and looks forward to working
with the group in the future.

The second part of the initiative is a civil society initiative. A
Travnik-based NGO, "Strength in Diversity," worked with a local
school in Travnik to develop an extracurricular cultural heritage
education program. Children from Travnik, Novi Travnik, and Ilidza
participated in a combination of classroom and field trip
experiences, to learn about BiH's cultural heritage in a way that is
not currently included in the curriculum. The culmination of this
pilot project was a 2-day cultural heritage outing through
Herzegovina, which the children (aged 11-12) agreed taught them much
about the heritage of their country. Strength in Diversity is hopeful
that this project could serve as a model for other similar efforts in
BiH.

All Annex 8 workshop reports and materials are available on the ECMI
web site, www.ecmi.de. For more information on this project, please
contact Valery Perry (valeryperry@...).