International Cooperation and Preferential Treatment measures
From an institutional point of view, and with regards to China, Greece participates in the celebration of the EU-China Year of Intercultural Dialogue with the Museum of Greek Folk Art and the theatre performance “Shadow theatre-a journey from China to Greece”. Considerable progress has been made towards establishing closer cultural relationships with China via the diplomatic channels of the bilateral relations in different fields, such as theatre, cinema, book and translation; as a milestone in the cultural relations between Greece and China may be considered the 2007-2008 Cultural Year of Greece presented to the Chinese audience on the occasion of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games followed the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
In 2010 Greece has participated in Shanghai Expo with the exhibition “Athens: Living history” on the Athenian Polis as a city state and citizen life, and the study of democratic institutions through epigraphic testimonies and coins; the connection with the Acropolis Restoration Project and the Unification of the Archaeological Sites; and second the “You in Greece” exhibition on alternative forms of tourism and new destinations, traditional products and professions, as well as the regeneration project of the cost of Piraeus.on the history of Athens and the study of the institution of democracy, the exhibition “You in Greece” on alternative tourism.
The Hellenic Republic co-chaired along with the Republic of Slovenia as a president the meeting of the 3rd Euro Mediterranean Conference of Ministers of Culture, held in Athens between 29 and 30 of May 2008, which brought together 27 members of the European Union and 12 states around the Mediterranean Sea. The Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg and the European Institute of Cultural Routes organized the 1st Forum of Delphi, in 2006, on the role of cultural itineraries as instruments for international dialogue, sustainable development, cultural tourism and European integration.
The main aim of the Forum was to identify and analyze the steps required to carry out this program in order to clarify responsibilities, methods of governance and
sources of funding. Placed under the auspices of the Council of Europe, it brought together representatives from the European Union (European Commission, European Parliament), UNESCO, ICOMOS, NGOs involved in the issues concerning cultural tourism, networks authorised by the Council of Europe to introduce cultural routes, parties involved in new cultural route projects, universities and their students, civil society, information bodies, banking organizations and tourism professionals. The results of the Forum have been reflected in the “Charter of Delphi on the future of the cultural routes of the Council of Europe”. The Forum of Delphi paved the way for a permanent platform of cooperation at an annual basis as part of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes, Council of Europe.
On 23 June 2010, in the framework of the 8th summit of Heads of State of South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP), the Greek Minister of Culture and Tourism signed the Declaration of Istanbul on “Music as a metaphor of cultural dialogue in South East Europe”. The meeting focused its discussions on intangible cultural heritage, in the framework of the 2003 UNESCO Convention, with a view to seeking ways to promote cultural diversity and enhance regional cooperation in the South East of Europe by means of creating cultural routes, corridors and itineraries. In the framework of the regional cultural cooperation, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism, considering that the book market -including translated titles- is
a privileged field to promote cultural diversity in the region of SEE, launched an initiative that would promote the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on a regional basis. In the framework of the Greek Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Culture of South East Europe, a network of cooperation in the field of book and translation was launched.