The project ‘Building the trust through protection of cultural monuments in Kosovo’ was presented today in Pristina. The goal of the project is reconstruction, promotion and protection of cultural heritage in Kosovo, along with promoting tolerance among communities. Cultural objects that will be promoted through the project are located in Gnjilane/Gilan, Štrpce/Shtërpcë, Uroševac/Ferizaj, Lipljan/Lipjan and Kamenica/Kamenicë municipalites.

Stavro Mitrović, a priest of the Serbian Orthodox Church from Novo Brdo/Novobërdë municipality, who participated in the presentation of the project, said that officials of the Church were not informed adequately about the projects and were not able to propose projects for reconstructing and protecting. He also said that cultural heritage destroyed in the March Pogrom 2004 can never be recovered.

The Kosovo Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport, Kujtim Shala, said that cultural heritage of Kosovo belongs to all its residents and that the best protection could be provided through Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO.

The project will be implemented by the UNDP through financial support of the EU Office in Kosovo, which allocated EUR 1.5 million for that purpose.