The session was attended by 21 participants from the Czech Republic (5 people), Poland (4 people), Slovakia (4 people), Hungary (5 people) and 3 people from Ukraine, as a neighbouring country. The vast majority of those taking part in the programme are actively involved in the protection of cultural heritage in their own countries through their work in heritage conservation services or non-governmental organisations dedicated to heritage protection. A small number of students represented the group of people engaged in research in the fields of history, art and culture.
The aim of the training was to exchange best practices in the management of sites on the List and to create a platform for dialogue and joint action among the managers of these sites. The project was carried out under the patronage of the V4 countries’ ministers of culture. The programme comprised both a theoretical component (lectures, seminars) and a practical component, namely study visits to sites on the List. The session took place on the premises of one of these sites, namely in the historic centre of Kraków, which also became the subject of study in terms of the management and conservation of significant historical values – the workshops and lectures were led by Michał Wiśniewski, MSc Eng. Arch. (Kraków University of Technology, ICC). Given the training-oriented nature of the session, the active participation of attendees in the programme was of paramount importance; consequently, a significant portion was devoted to presentations by students showcasing sites on the List in the V4 countries and Ukraine, as well as methods for safeguarding these sites through effective management.
The session opened with a lecture by Dr Mechtild Rössler (Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre for Europe and North America in Paris) entitled “World Heritage. New Challenges and Priorities”. The academic panel for the session comprised representatives of institutions involved in the protection of cultural heritage in the V4 countries. They addressed issues closely related to the rules for nominating sites for inclusion on the List, the Convention concerning sites on the List (Gábor Soós, National Office for Cultural Heritage, Budapest), and the rules for monitoring them (Ľubica Pinčíková, Monuments Board, National Office of Cultural Heritage of the Slovak Republic), the management plan for a given site as a means of its protection (Jaroslav Kilián, Academia Istropolitana Nova, Bratislava) and the conditions for deciding on inscription on the List (Zdeněk Novák, Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic). An introductory lecture on the session’s theme, entitled “Cultural and Political History of the V4 Region”, was delivered by Prof. Jacek Purchla (Cracow University of Economics, ICC).