14/06/2024

A five-day workshop "Fighting the illicit trafficking of cultural property in the Western Balkans" was held at the Agency for Education and Professional Training on June 10 – 14, 2024 in cooperation with the UNESCO Office in Sarajevo, with financial support of the European Commission. Through lectures, interactive workshops, and online presentations of prominent world experts, the workshop was designed to raise awareness and develop professional capacities to fight theft, robbery, and illegal trade in cultural goods through enhanced institutional and cross-border cooperation. The workshop gathered representatives of police institutions of all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ministries of culture and cultural institutions, the Indirect Taxation Authority, and the judicial system.

Siniša Šešum, the head of the UNESCO Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, pointed out the need to re-create the coordination of relevant bodies in our country to suppress illegal trade in cultural goods. He reminded that the coordination had been established in 2018, but that all programme activities were blocked during the Covid – 19 pandemic.

"We hope this workshop will encourage the re-establishing of coordination. Here we are talking about the interdisciplinary cultural convention that involves law enforcement, customs, judiciary, and prosecution, as well as our colleagues in the ministries of culture and all cultural institutions. That is why I hope that this five-day workshop managed to bring you together and will connect even more colleagues throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina to suppress illegal trade in cultural goods as much as possible " - emphasized Šešum. The need for a more serious approach to this problem is illustrated by the fact that the value of illegal trade in cultural goods, which occurs in our region or passes through it, is estimated at 6-8% of the global market.

"To properly deal with illegal trade in cultural goods, we have to follow trends and new technologies, and act preventively in cooperation with all institutions, from the law enforcement and judiciary to cultural institutions. Only together, with coordinated activities, can we respond to this important mission, ‘’ stated the director of the Agency for Education and Professional Training, Marko Vujević, The international workshop, he added, is an indicator of the gravity of the problem, which should be given great attention by acting preventatively and proactively.

Vujević praised the cooperation with the UNESCO Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and thanked everyone who contributed to the organization of the workshop, which gathered 120 people.