Culture Minister and President of the National Commission for UNESCO, Bisera Kostadinovska-Stojchevska, convened a working session in Ohrid on Thursday with representatives of UNESCO’s Reactive Monitoring Mission, comprising members of the World Heritage Center, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, announced the Ministry of Culture in a press release.

The meeting took place at the Institute and Museum in Ohrid, with members of the National Coordination Team and Museum Director Irena Shajn also in attendance. Kostadinovska-Stojchevska emphasized the commitment of the Ministry of Culture and the National Coordination Team to implementing UNESCO’s recommendations for the protection of cultural heritage. She underscored the collective determination to safeguard the Ohrid Region’s prestigious UNESCO status. “I am confident that through unified efforts, involving both central and local governments, as well as the non-governmental sector, in coordinated and accelerated action, we will continue to adhere to UNESCO’s guidelines for enhancing the rare natural and cultural heritage of our region,” stated Kostadinovska-Stojchevska, as quoted in the press release.

Discussions also addressed the current state of cultural heritage protection in the Ohrid Region, strategies to overcome challenges, and the progress made by the state in response to the latest UNESCO recommendations.

The meeting formed part of the agenda for a three-day joint reactive monitoring mission involving members from the UNESCO World Heritage Center, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This mission focuses on the cross-border World Heritage site “Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region,” spanning the Republic of Albania and NMacedonia.