Museums are not only guardians of the past, but they are also bridges for cooperation in the present. The importance of these institutions preserving cultural heritage was the focal point of a ministerial conference on national museums in South East Europe, held in Skopje on Tuesday.

The event is organised by the Macedonian Ministry of Culture as the current Chair-in-Office of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat, and the RCC Task Force on Culture and Society.

Task forces from SEE museum institutions have drafted a joint declaration binding them to cooperate and share experience in managing, collecting, protecting and presenting cultural heritage, apply modern technologies and digitization and educate.

"A conference on museums is held for the first time, being of great importance for establishing a network of national museums in the region of SEE. The Republic of Macedonia has a lot to boast about, because recently culture is high on the agenda of social development, cultural heritage and values are treated with respect and a lot has been invested in museums and archeology," Minister Kanceska-Milevska said amongst other things.

Participants at the conference highlighted the importance of cooperation and network amongst national institutions and joint projects amid conditions derived from the economic crisis.

RCC Secretary General Hido Biscevic said that regional cooperation by creating SEE museum network could result in major benefits.

"All museums in the region unfortunately share cutbacks from government and general social changes, therefore they should look to form alliances and develop cross-border cooperation between cultural operators and institutions, elaborate joint products and programmes etc. I sincerely hope that our joint efforts and the Ministerial Joint Statement will open opportunities for deepening of cooperation in the field of culture, and particularly among the museums in the region," stated Biscevic.

The ministerial conference, taking place in the Museum of Macedonian Struggle, brings together representatives from Albania, BiH, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro as well as officials of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and International Council of Museums (ICOM).