The 15th Advisory Forum of the Council of Europe’s ‘Cultural Routes’ Program will be held in Yerevan on September 23–25 under the theme “Routes through Time and Cultures: Education for Sustainable Heritage.” Around 250 delegates from various countries will attend the forum.
Ahead of the event, a press conference was held with the participation of ESCS Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan, Director of the Cultural Development Foundation Karen Avetisyan, , Head of the Democratic Institutions and Freedoms Department of the Council of Europe Roberto Olla, and Sergio Ortega Muñoz, Chair of the Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes.
The forum is one of the flagship annual events of the Council of Europe’s ‘Cultural Routes’ Program. It brings together representatives of the program’s member states, international organizations, universities, local and regional authorities, civil society, as well as the cultural, heritage and tourism sectors.
Welcoming the participants, Deputy Minister Alfred Kocharyan emphasized that hosting the forum in Armenia is the result of extensive work and collaboration that began in 2015, when Armenia joined the program. The Deputy Minister noted that Armenia has been actively engaged in the program since 2022 and was elected to the Bureau in 2025. Five countries are elected to the Bureau every two years.
“This has enabled us to become even more deeply integrated into the program and to put forward new initiatives and bring them to life. Armenia is currently a member of six Cultural Routes. By the end of this year, a seventh route—the Women Writers Cultural Route—will be added,” he said.
The Deputy Minister particularly highlighted the importance of hosting the forum in Armenia in terms of promoting Armenian culture and strengthening its integration into the broader European cultural landscape. As a successful example, he cited the large-scale exhibition “Colours and Lights of Armenian Impressionism,” held in Barbizon, France, in 2025 as part of the Impressionisms Routes.
Alfred Kocharyan also highlighted the significance of strengthening the link between education and culture through the forum, noting that education is a key priority across all areas of Armenia’s state policy, while cultural education is considered a distinct policy target.
Roberto Olla, Head of the Democratic Institutions and Freedoms Department of the Council of Europe, noted in particular: “When speaking about the Cultural Routes, it is important to emphasize that the Council of Europe, established in 1949, was founded on a fundamental idea: to establish peace and foster dialogue among countries through culture. We hope that Armenia will join more of the Routes, which are currently 52, and that this forum, through its format, will also be productive to the academic community, students and tourists.”
Karen Avetisyan, Director of the Cultural Development Foundation, noted that hosting the forum places cultural policy in a broader international context. He highlighted the contemporary trends underpinning the program, including the use of artificial intelligence.
Sergio Ortega Muñoz, Chair of the Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes, highlighted the importance of youth participation in the program and the digitization of cultural heritage.
“The aim of engaging young people is to bring forward new ideas and provide greater visibility into the living conditions and environments in which they operate. The topics we will address during these days will set a new benchmark for 2027, which will be a landmark year for the Cultural Routes,” he said.
The 2026 forum focuses on the interconnection between cultural heritage and education. Discussions during the forum will explore how Cultural Routes can contribute to creating new educational opportunities, fostering intercultural dialogue, engaging young people, building inclusive societies, and ensuring the sustainable preservation of heritage.