the Organization's Director-General, Koichiro Matsuura, at the UNESCO Palace in Paris on Wednesday. Matsuura also opened an exhibition of Croatian sites on the World Heritage List.
Matsuura said the high UNESCO title was bestowed on Basic for his outstanding 50-year artistic career.
Basic said he would promote in his public activity the fundamental values on which UNESCO was based, notably multicultural dialogue, cultural and language diversity.
The event was also addressed by Croatian Ambassador to UNESCO Neda Ritz and Croatian Deputy Culture Minister Kresimir Filipec.
The exhibition of Croatian locations included in the UNESCO World Heritage List was staged to mark the 25th anniversary of the inclusion of Dubrovnik, Split, and Plitvice Lakes National Park. The historic centre of Trogir and the Basilica of Eufrasius in Porec were listed in 1997, and St. Jacob's Cathedral in Sibenik in 2000.
The exhibition was organised by Croatia's Permanent Mission to UNESCO, with the support of the Croatian Culture Ministry. After Paris, where it is open until October 22, the exhibition travels to Japan and Germany.