The Visegrád Four must build the future together, taking into account their differences, said János Csák, Minister of Culture and Innovation, at a joint press conference in Bratislava on Tuesday, after a meeting of the V4 culture ministers from Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
The Hungarian Minister said that identity was one of the most frequently mentioned terms in their discussions, adding that it is necessary to know who we are, as this is a prerequisite for relating to others. “Here in Central Europe, in the V4, but also in the Western Balkans and with our Ukrainian friends, we have one destiny,” said János Csák.
He underlined that
there are differences between us, but our task is to build the future together, taking note of these differences.
The minister stressed that it was important that the V4 Fund had presented its plans, which they looked forward to with great anticipation, and that they would announce new programs. This is also important, because as he said, “we need to show ourselves within the European Union” and greater efforts must be made in this direction,” so that Brussels understands that
there is a specific cultural world here, with great added value,”
emphasized Csák. The future is in our hands, he added.
Silvia Hroncová, Slovak Minister of Culture, said that programs had been launched to rehabilitate the buildings damaged by fire in the historic center of Banská Štiavnica (Selmecbánya, town in central Slovakia) in March, and they hoped these would allow the restoration of the monuments concerned to be completed within three years. In this context, she thanked her V4 partners for the assistance they had provided through their expert teams in dealing with the aftermath of the fire.
It is said that a friend is known in need, and this was shown in the case of Banská Štiavnica (Selmecbánya),”
said Hroncová.
The meeting of culture ministers in Bratislava was a closing event of the Slovak V4 Presidency. One of the main topics of the two-day meeting was the possibilities of heritage protection and deepening cooperation in this field.
Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/Ministerstvo kultúry Slovenskej republiky
