Fourth International Conference Of Balkan Political Club Ends

FINAL DECLARATION: ''DIVERSITY OF BALKAN CULTURES IS A NATURAL BASIS FOR DEMOCRATIC POLICIES OF TOLERANCE AND MUTUAL RESPECT''
ISTANBUL - The final declaration of the Fourth International Conference of the Balkan Political Club said, ''the diversity of the Balkan cultures is a natural basis for democratic policies of tolerance and mutual respect.''
The Fourth International Conference of the Balkan Political Club, which bas founded by former President Jelu Jelev of Bulgaria in 1999, on the issue of ''Cultural Potential of the Balkan Countries as a Factor of Development'' ended in Istanbul.
The final declaration released at the end of the conference said that the participants debated rich Balkan heritage as a basis for development and integration of Balkan societies.
''The diversity of the Balkan cultures is a natural basis for democratic policies of tolerance and mutual respect. An important aspect, in the Balkans as in the rest of Europe is the nurturing of the cultures of minorities whose richness in all of our countries opens a fertile channel of communication and encourages artistic creativity,'' it said.
The declaration noted, ''the artistic and cultural heritages of our region, not help only our mutual communication, but also contribute to our European integration. The Balkan cultural heritage is of special importance to the necessary healing after the wars of the 1990s.''
Drawing special attention to the role of education of the young generations, the final declaration said, ''teaching the values of humanism and democracy to young people, in a spirit of tolerance and respect of the other, calls for drastic reforms in our systems of education and training. The members of the Balkan Political Club will propose within their own countries ideas and projects that will promote these aims.''
(UK-MS) 01.06.2003