A local support group has been set up for the joint management organization of the Fertő / Neusiedler See cross-border World Heritage Site

The first meeting of the local support group for the establishment of a joint management organization for the Fertő / Neusiedler See cross-border World Heritage Site was held on 28 September in Eisenstadt, in the Palm House of the Esterházy Castle, as part of the “Common Heritage” project co-financed through the Interreg V-A Austria-Hungary program. The event was followed with a great interest from both the Hungarian and Austrian sides.

At the beginning of the workshop, Kitti Dubniczki, Chief Planner of CESCI, greeted the participants and presented the schedule of the meeting, followed by the greetings of the presidents of the two project partners, Ferenc Ivanics (Hungarian Council of the Neusiedl Landscape World Heritage Association) and Erwin Preiner (Verein Welterbe Neusiedler See). After the greetings, the participants were briefly introduced, including delegates from Esterhazy Betriebe, who provided the venue for the meeting, as well as delegates from the state and provincial governments, national parks and regional policy bodies.

After the presentation, Tamás Taschner, the director of the Hungarian Council of the Fertő-táj World Heritage Council, presented the Common Heritage project, focusing on the role and significance of the joint management organization. As a continuation, Gyula Ocskay, Secretary General of CESCI, described the role of the emerging local support group and the way in which CESCI envisages the establishment of a joint management organization. Roland Hesz, CESCI’s lead analyst, summarized the lessons learned from the analysis of nearly 20 European examples examined in the first phase of the work, including the main aspects of the differences between the forms of cooperation around cross-border heritage sites. After the presentations, the local actors’ expectations about the joint management organization were explored in an interactive way, which gave rise to an instructive, thought-provoking dialogue. The official part of the meeting ended with the presentation of the next steps of the project, then the informal conversation continued with a buffet and a wine tasting of the Esterházy winery.

The next meeting will take place in November 2021, when the cooperation alternatives developed by CESCI will be presented.