Today, FORTE CULTURA has reached an important milestone.

After several months of intensive work by the Board, the Scientific Committee and many members of our network, we have officially forwarded the application documents for certification as a Szlak kulturowy Rady Europy.

This is an important moment for the whole FORTE CULTURA community. It reflects years of cooperation, shared commitment and steady development. At the same time, it is important to underline that the submission of the application does not complete the process. On the contrary: it marks the beginning of a new and decisive phase.

In the coming months, the application will be reviewed by experts appointed within the Council of Europe Cultural Routes framework. In autumn, we expect to enter into direct dialogue with the evaluators, who will assess not only the quality of the documents submitted, but also the strength, coherence and vitality of our network.

During the preparation of the application, we had the opportunity to look carefully at where FORTE CULTURA stands today. We were able to appreciate several important strengths:

• a clearer and more focused European narrative: from bastions to bunkers – fortresses for culture and peace;
• a growing network of members across Europe;
• a stronger Scientific Committee and a substantial body of publications and research;
• active thematic and geographical clusters;
• annual congresses, seminars, pilot tours and study activities;
• cooperation with universities, experts, local authorities and heritage managers;
• concrete work on cultural tourism, interpretation, youth, inclusion and accessibility;
• a renewed commitment to visibility, communication and common branding.

These are real achievements, and they belong to the whole network.

At the same time, the application process has also shown us where we can still improve. Certification, if achieved, will not be only a recognition of what has already been done. It will also be a responsibility for the future.

For this reason, we ask all members to support the next phase actively.

In particular, we kindly invite members to:

• make FORTE CULTURA clearly visible on their websites, with logo, link and a short textual reference;
• keep their member profiles and information up to date;
• share news, activities, publications and events with the network;
• contribute to cluster development and future cooperation projects;
• support data collection on visitors, activities, tourism impact and educational work;
• involve local guides, schools, universities, communities and tourism partners wherever possible;
• help demonstrate that FORTE CULTURA is not only an association, but a living European route.

The coming months will therefore be important. We should be pleased with the work completed, but also aware that the evaluation phase will require attention, responsiveness and cooperation from all of us.

Being recognised as a Szlak kulturowy Rady Europy would be a major step forward in the life of FORTE CULTURA. It would give our network stronger European visibility, greater institutional credibility and new opportunities for cooperation, tourism, research, education and heritage enhancement.

So today we can be happy — and cross our fingers.

But above all, we can continue working together, with the same conviction that has guided FORTE CULTURA from the beginning: transforming fortified heritage from places of conflict and defence into open spaces for culture, dialogue and peace.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this important step. The journey continues.

Filippo Cailotto
Prezes
FORTE CULTURA e.V.