The next stage

The review of the state of heritage policies and the operational conclusions on legal reform have highlighted that there are many differences concerning legal and institutional systems for the cultural heritage in the countries of south-East Europe, all of which are at differenct stages of development. There has been a general consensus in favour of an improved methodology for the protection and management of cultural heritage and of the need to move away from the ideology of the past towards a more inclusive and integrated approach, recognising the value of heritage in society. The concept of sustainable development and the contribution of the heritage in this sphere is a new field of consideration - in its early stages in terms of understanding and implementation, but this should not deter investigation of sustainable solutions. The debate has made a major contribution to the reform process. There is a need for a functioning network and capacity building to exchange ideas to further assist this process. The Council of Europe will undertake to organise, with different host countries, a programme of activities drawn from the requests of country delegates and the operational conclusions of this examination. The issues for susequent consideration will be based on the following subject areas, for which a number of themes have been provisionally identified: - the use of digital information systems; - cultural landscapes; - integrated consevation systems; - cultural heritage and sustainable development; - financial policy and funding measures including revitalisation programmes, the use of the heritage as an economic resource and the perspective of investors; - human resources for the management of cultural heritage.