Incorporated into the final text of the declaration was a proposal put forward by Croatian President Stjepan Mesic for the next forum to be held in Croatia in 2006. Mesic said he had been given a promise by UNESCO Director-General Koichira Matsuura that UNESCO would help in organising the forum in Croatia.
The forum, which opened in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Varna on Friday, was attended by representatives of Southeast European countries -- Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia and Turkey -- and representatives of international organisations.
The conference was initiated by Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and held under the aegis of UNESCO and the Council of Europe.