The Phoenicians’ Route was present at the 14th Annual Advisory Forum on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, which was held in Cappadocia, Türkiye from October 22nd to October 24th, focusing on “Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe and Landscapes: Advancing Heritage Protection through Cultural and Sustainable Tourism” in the face of increasing climate change, pollution, and development pressures.
The Forum was organised by the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) in collaboration with the European Institute of Cultural Routes, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye, the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency and with the support of local authorities of the Cappadocia region.
The programme featured a series of general sessions accompanied by a panel discussion as well as a welcoming ceremony for the new members State of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, a certification ceremony for the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe that have received certification in 2025 and awards recognising inspiring practices of Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.
Mr.sc. Ksenija Keča, Head of International Relations Office at Sveučilište Libertas – Libertas International University and member of the Scientific Committee of the Phoenicians’ Route, and Polonca Vodopivec, Project Coordinator, Department for Economy and Development, Municipality of Ajdovščina, Slovenia, member of the Steering Committee of the Phoenicians’ Route, participated in the Forum.
In the framework of the Advisory Forum, the Phoenicians’ Route was awarded in the category ‘Co-operation in Research and Development’ for the International Conference “Meta-Sea. The Sea of the Gods: Circulation of cult and attendance of sanctuaries in the ancient Mediterannean”, held in Macerata (Italy), 11th -13th June 2025.
The conference, born within the International University Network IUN of the Phoenicians’ Route, addressed the theme of Mediterranean Sea, understood as the “middle sea”, a meeting place and crossroads of connections and communications, and a privileged space through which, since prehistoric times, people, goods, ideas, technologies, languages, and cultures have circulated.