General Assembly of the European organisation of the Saint Martin's Way in Szombathely
The European Network of Saint Martin's Centres (Réseau Européen des Centres Culturels Saint Martin) held its fifth General Assembly in Szombathely, following its foundation in 2011. The event was hosted by the Saint Martin's European Cultural Routes Association of Hungary. Founded by six NGOs (French, Italian, Croatian, Slovenian, Dutch, Hungarian and French, Italian and Croatian), the association's mission is to build the Via Sancti Martini cultural route across Europe from Szombathely to Tours. The success of the initiative is demonstrated by the fact that in recent years German, Flemish and Luxembourgish organisations have joined the international association, which has adopted the same objective. In 2013, on a proposal from the European Institute of Cultural Routes, the competent committee of the Council of Europe designated the Via Sancti Martini - Saint Martin's Way as a "Cultural Route of the Council of Europe" for a further three years, because of its outstanding importance. At the General Assembly held in the Szombathely Gallery on 29 September 2016, all member organisations were represented, with the exception of the Corsican one. The participants listened to and accepted the reports of the member organisations, which had been sent out in written form beforehand. They approved the financial report for 2016 and decided on the organisational membership fees for 2017.
At the meeting in Szombathely, the participants of the General Assembly took the necessary decisions for the European accreditation of the Via Sancti Martini cultural route.
- The Slovakian organisation, the Rada Európskej kultúrnej cesty svätého Martina na Slovensku (Council of the European Cultural Route of St. Martin in Slovakia), which was founded in Alistal in the summer of this year, was admitted as a member.
- The Assembly approved the "St Martin's Way in the Lowlands" from Kunszentmárton to Tiszapüspöki, which was completed in May. The road section has officially become part of the European Saint Martin's Way and can use the title "Cultural Route of the Council of Europe".
- The General Assembly decided to publish a quarterly bulletin in English and French to facilitate communication between member organisations.
- On the proposal of the Dutch member organisation, the decision was adopted to take the initiative to inscribe the customs and traditions associated with Saint Martin on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The necessary working document will take two years to complete. The Dutch organisation has taken on the coordination.
The German organisation will chair the Network for a period of one year from 11 November 2016.
The theme of the conference following the General Assembly was "St. Martin creating community". This event was organised by the St. Martin's European Cultural Route Council of Hungary in cooperation with the National Institute for Cultural Heritage.
Member organisations of the European Network of Saint Martin Cultural Centres (Réseau européen des Centres Culturels Saint Martin):
Centre Culturel Européen Saint Martin de Tours - France
Centre Culturel Saint Martin - Flanders
Centro Culturale San Martino - Italy
Centru Culturale San Martinu - Corsica
Frënn vum Mäerteswee - Luxembourg
Kulturni Centar Sveti Martin - Croatia
Kulturni Center Sv. Martin Tourski - Slovenia
Martinusgemeinschaft - Germany
Rada Európskej kultúrnej cesty svätého Martina na Slovensku - Slovakia
Sintmaartensberaad, Utrecht - Netherlands
Council of the St. Martin's European Cultural Route in Hungary
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