A training course “Heritage supporting
sustainable development opportunities in the Lake Ohrid Region will take place on
25-27 April in Pogradec and Tushemisht. This course is organized on behalf of
Project: Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural
and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid region”, financed by European Union and
Albanian Ministry of Environment and implemented by UNESCO.
The course will gather representatives from the ministries of economic
development and tourism as well as agriculture and from equal departments from
local government from two countries Albania and FYR of Macedonia; local
representatives of chamber of commerce; individual entrepreneurs (family
accommodation entrepreneurs, hotel owners, craftsmen, farmers, wine producers;
fish farmers, tourist associations etc).
The workshop offers a capacity
building opportunity on the potential for ‘heritage-friendly’ small-scale
enterprises/initiatives for Lake Ohrid region practitioners and representatives
of institutions, organisations, communities and networks in line with the World
Heritage Capacity Building Strategy.
It presents a sustainable
development approach for World Heritage and aims at strengthening the bridging
process between the relevant institutions - at the national and local level -
and the local communities; and at reinforcing the network among communities,
NGOs and institutions in a transboundary context, and with relevant partners
elsewhere in respective countries and abroad. It encourages small-scale
initiatives that contribute to the bigger picture.
Specific objectives
- Increasing
appreciation of shared heritage values and building awareness on the potential
of heritage, both cultural and natural, as a support for sustainable
development.
- Understanding
what existing economic activities provide shared benefits and have no negative
impact on the heritage values and ecosystem and which ones do not currently
enhance the Lake Ohrid region values or, more significantly, actually damage
them.
- Bringing
together small-scale entrepreneurs and those who can help them to learn how to
build and sustain successful microenterprise based around the values of the
area.
- Contributing
to the management planning process for the Albanian extension, fully taking
into consideration the particular demands of a mixed nature/culture
transboundary World Heritage property, the need to build a co-management
framework and to define a common identity
- Contributing to show the
advantages of a strong inter-sectorial, inter-institutional (among different
institutions) and intra-institutional (among different sectors of the same
institution) cooperation and coordination in achieving complex goals with
tangible and intangible components. Examples will be explored such as the
importance of coordination between diverse sectors for licence issuing and
amendments for a wide range of activities (e.g. restaurants, B&Bs/hotels,
golf courses, theme parks and railway depots) in order to maintain the
traditional character of rural landscapes and architecture and sustain farming
activities.
- Consolidating
the workshop participants in stronger networks, and linking them to those
already dealing with heritage values and sustainable development in Albania,
FYR of Macedonia, neighbouring countries and the wider region.
The workshop is aimed at
addressing small-scale entrepreneurship concerns and values for the Lake Ohrid
Region area, but will also introduce the broader picture, the overall context
and associated heritage concerns. More specifically, the following themes/items
shall be addressed:
- agriculture; forestry; recreation and tourism; traditional craftsmanship; eco-environmental
services and heritage friendly enterprises.