Poland became a party to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1976. Since then, it has been involved in the work of the World Heritage Committee aimed at the preservation and conservation of cultural properties.
In the framework of co-operation with the Council of Europe, the Polish activity is aimed at the enhancement of the protection of monuments on the international level. This means comprehensive Polish involvement in some important Council of Europe projects: European Heritage Days (since 1999) and HEREIN (since 2000).
The European Union Programme Culture 2000, which Poland joined in 2001, created the possibility for the promotion of Polish culture via multilateral co-operation with cultural organisations from other Member States.
Poland is a member of Visegrad Group (V4), which reflects the efforts of the countries of the Central European region to work together in a number of fields of common interest relating to European integration. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have historically been part of one civilisation. They share cultural and intellectual values and common roots of religious traditions which they wish to preserve and further strengthen.
Poland is also a member of Ars Baltica, which was created in 1989 as a forum for multilateral cultural co-operation with an emphasis on common projects within the Baltic Sea Region. It gives priority to art, culture and cultural history. The intention of Ars Baltica is to enhance cultural identity in the Baltic Sea Region and also to realise projects of European significance. Its goal is to implement common projects, with the intention that they will become regular networks of individuals and organisations. Co-operation between the members is carried out by meetings, exchanges of information and joint projects. There are ten member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden.
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