On June 21st, the Municipality of Kaynardzha celebrated the 250th Anniversary of the Peace Treaty signed in that location in 1774, between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire.
The celebrations, in which various political and religious authorities from Kaynardzha and the Silistra Region participated, took place throughout the morning in the Park of Peace and began with three short speeches alluding to the date given by the Mayor of Kaynardzha, Mr. Lyuben Sivev, by the Administrator of the Silistra Region, Mr. Ilijan Velikov and by the President of ENPP, Eduardo Basso, followed by the inauguration of a Plaque Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Kaynardzha Peace Treaty.
The Celebrations ended with a colloquium on the role of the Kaynardzha Peace Treaty in the History of Bulgaria and Europe with the participation of several academics from the Universities of Veliko Tarnovo, Silistra and other places in Bulgaria, held at the Visitor Center of the Park of Peace.
ENPP was present at these Celebrations at the invitation of the Mayor of Kaynardzha and was represented by its President of the Board, Eduardo Basso, who placed a bouquet of flowers on the Plaque Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of that Peace Treaty.
At its General Assembly held on October 27, 2023 in the town of Kaynardzha (Bulgaria), ENPP approved a Declaration on the War in Ukraine, in which it defends the primacy of dialogue and negotiation to put an end to this war.
Here is the full text of the approved Declaration:
PUT AN END TO THE WAR IN EUROPE
ESTABLISH A LASTING PEACE FOR ALL EUROPEAN PEOPLES
Whereas:
- More than a year and a half after the outbreak of this war in Ukraine, the danger of its spread to the nearest countries and to Europe as a whole persist and worsen, as ENPP warned five days after its start, continuing to witness the growing militarization of the conflict to the detriment of initiatives that lead to Peace;
- ENPP’s priority concern goes to all those who have already suffered, continue to suffer or are at risk of suffering with the continuation of this war and its eternalization in time, namely the Ukrainian people, with thousands of deaths and destruction of the its heritage and all other European peoples who already suffer from its indirect consequences (inflation, economic stagnation, etc.);
- ENPP’s action, based on its statutory principles, namely based on paragraph c) of its Article 3, is oriented towards the primacy of dialogue and negotiation that puts an end to this war and establishes all the conditions necessary for sustainable and lasting peace in Europe.
- The United Nations, the European Union and NATO must guide their action in respect for the main objective for which they were created, that is, to guarantee peace in Europe and the world and this cannot be achieved with weapons but with negotiations.
The General Assembly of the European Network of Places of Peace Association, based on its statutory principles and the historical heritage of the Peace Treaties signed in the European places that constitute it, decides:
1 – Repudiate and condemn all initiatives contrary to the use of dialogue and negotiation in resolving conflicts between peoples and, consequently, repudiate and condemn the armed invasion of Ukrainian territory by the Russian Federation as well as all actions aimed at prioritizing military solutions to the detriment of dialogue and negotiation;
2 – Urge and appeal to the main European institutions (European Union and Council of Europe) to act in accordance with the interests of all European peoples and with the very principles that guided their constitution (Treaty of Maastricht/1992 and Foundation of
the CoE/ 1949), directing its action to put an end to this war and create the conditions to guarantee a lasting peace for all the Ukrainian people and to prevent the spread of this war and its consequences for the remaining European peoples;
3 – Act to raise awareness among European institutions, the national powers and the USA of the urgent need to pursue policies leading to an end to this war, as quickly as possible, based on the assumptions and guidelines defined in the previous points and according to the interests of the populations of all Ukraine, including Donbass and Crimeia, expressed democratically and under the supervision of the United Nations.
Kaynardzha (Bulgaria), October 27, 2023
The Annual General Assembly of the European Network of Places of Peace
The Municipality of Wermsdorf (Germany) formalized its membership of the European Network of Places of Peace following the unanimous decision of its Municipal Council.
The Municipality of Wermsdorf, chaired by Mr. Matthias Müller, has on its territory the Castle of Hubertusburg, where on February 15, 1763 the Peace Treaty known as “Peace of Hubertusburg” was signed, putting an end to the well-known “Seven Years’ War”.
The adhesion of this German public entity will certainly reinforce the work of ENPP in terms of promoting that important “place of peace”, which has already belonged to our Network since its foundation in 2010 through the Hubertusburg Castle Friendship Association, a non-profit association whose main objective is to safeguard and promote the architectural and historical heritage of the Castle of Hubertusburg.
In online format, ENPP held its Annual General Meeting on April 7, at 4 pm (Portuguese time), to discuss and vote on the management documents for the year 2021 (Rendering of Accounts and Management Report) and the Activities Plan for 2022, and an assessment of the ongoing projects at the Association was also made.
The management documents were unanimously approved by the members present.
With regard to ongoing projects, the Annual General Assembly considered the projects applied by the Association and other partners to the ERASMUS+ program, took cognizance of the application submitted by the Association for the EUROPA NOSTRA 2022 Awards, reviewed the status of the preparation of the application of sites in Europe where Peace Treaties were signed to the European Heritage Label for the 2023 evaluation period and discussed the possibility of submitting a new application of “Places of Peace Route” to Cultural Route of the Council of Europe for the 2022/2023 evaluation period in response to the invitation received in this regard from the Executive Secretary of the Extended Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.
The General Assembly was also informed of the invitation by the President of the Board of the Association Trencin European Town, a member of the ENPP, to hold the 2022 European face-to-face meeting in that Slovak city at the beginning of next September.
The war situation in Ukraine could have been avoided if the principles of dialogue and negotiation in the resolution of conflicts defended by the ENPP had prevailed, based on the historical experience of the Peace Treaties and the places where they were signed, which are part of our Network.
Unfortunately, this was not the path followed by the warring parties or other world policy makers and we are currently witnessing the immense suffering of the people of Ukraine, the separation of families and an immense influx of Ukrainian refugees.
ENPP calls on the parties to the conflict to use all windows of opportunity for dialogue and negotiation which open the way to putting an end to this war and putting an end to the harmful consequences for the European peoples, to whom the ENPP expresses its deepest and sincere solidarity.
Therefore, ENPP launched a solidarity campaign with the city of Khotyn (Ukraine), a member of the ENPP since last December, which, due to its proximity to the borders of Moldova and Romania, is receiving numerous war refugees. . According to our Ukrainian partners, the main needs focus on electrical heating equipment, water pumping equipment, beds, mattresses, food (canned goods, pasta, cereals, biscuits), medicines, medical devices and medical care aids, first aid kits and personal hygiene products.
This campaign is being conducted by ENPP members in several European countries and all those wishing to contribute should contact the ENPP members in their countries, whose contacts are available on the ENPP official website, in Portuguese, English, French and German through the link: https://placesofpeace.eu/contact/.
The European Network of Places for Peace was invited by the Minister of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan to participate and intervene in the “Peace4Culture Forum” which will take place on December 2nd, in the city of Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.
ENPP’s participation and intervention in this Forum will be the responsibility of itsPresident of the Board, Eduardo Basso, and will be held during the 2nd Plenary Session under the theme “How can we strengthen peaceful sustainable societies and the international system of peace?”.
The Forum “Peace4Culture” is part of the global program known as “Baku Process” (https://www.bakuprocess.az/), promoted by the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan since the year 2010 and which aims to promote intercultural dialogue and develop the system of peace at a global level, taking advantage of the country’s geographic location and the cultural and religious diversity of its people.
ENPP had already participated in the 3rd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue which took place in the city of Baku on the 18th and 19th of May 2015 under the theme “Sharing Culture for Shared Security”.
Photo: ADA University, Baku, the Forum venue
Dr. Georg Müller, former president of the Hubertusburg Castle Friendship Association (Wermsdorf, Germany), passed away today.
It’s really very bad news for the family, for the Hubertusburg Castle Friendship Association (Member of ENPP), for Wermsdorf and for the European Network of Places of Peace, which he co-founded and started working with in 2007 when our Network was still a project in its infancy. The dedication, enthusiasm and great commitment to publicize the Historic Heritage of the Castle of Hubertusburg are particularly noteworthy.
When in 2007 the Evorameonte Castle Friendship Association began contacts with European organizations with a view to creating the European Network of Places of Peace, the first response (and what an enthusiastic response) we received was precisely from Dr. Georg Müller, president of Hubertusburg Castle on that date Friendship Association. We especially recall the speech he made at the Peace Conference held in Évora Monte (Portugal) in December 2007 which constituted the starting point of our Network and made us sure that the project we had idealized made perfect sense.
ENPP, by the hand of its Vice President, Mr. Ulf Müller, will deliver to Dr. George Müller’s family a bunch of flowers on behalf of the European Network of Places of Peace. ENPP will also present to the family, through his son Mr. Matthias Müller, Mayor of Wermsdorf, the condolences on behalf of all members of our Network.
Our Network is in mourning. At our 13th ENPP Meeting to be held in Markranstädt (Germany) between the 14th and the 17th of October, the ENPP will pay due tribute to Dr. George Müller and will propose his posthumous appointment as an Honorary Member of the ENPP.
Photo: Dr. Georg Müller at the signing of the public deed of ENPP (Torre/Paço de Évora Monte, Portugal, 28 May 2010)
Video “Tribute Dr. Georg Müller” in https://youtu.be/8OFUxTDOh_E
Last Monday, September 20, an ENPP delegation consisting of Eduardo Basso, President of ENPP and Apolónia Rodrigues, Coordinator of Places of Peace Route, was received at the Turkish Embassy in Portugal by the Ambassador, Ms. Lale Ülker and the First counselor of the Embassy, Ms. Sükrüye Bayar Balcius following the visit that an ENPP delegation carried out at the end of August to the Turkish city of Edirne, a founding member of the association.
The ENPP delegation had the opportunity to inform the Turkish Ambassador to Portugal about the friendly way in which the ENPP delegation was received in Edirne as well as the competent and very complete program that the Municipality of Edirne prepared and implemented for that visit.
At the meeting, the ENPP delegation expressed the Network’s interest in joining other Turkish cities where other peace treaties were signed and in strengthening the collaboration ties between the association and Turkey.
At the end of the meeting, it was decided to maintain regular contacts, namely on the evolution of the ENPP’s activity in Turkey.
A delegation from ENPP, constituted by Eduardo Basso, President of the Board, Apolónia Rodrigues, Coordinator of the Places of Peace Route and Áurea Rodrigues, President of the Scientific Council, visited the city of Edirne on August 24th and 25th, whose Municipality is a founding member of the Network and which recently regained its activity in the Association through the action of its current Mayor, Mr. Recep Gürkan.
The ENPP delegation was received on the first day by the Head of the EU&International Relations Office of the city of Edirne, Ms. Ebru Karaca, who accompanied the visits to some of the main ex-libris of the City’s Cultural Heritage: Municipal Museum of the City of Edirne, Selimiye Mosque (UNESCO World Heritage), Turkish Hat Art Museum, Edirne Archeology Museum and the Bazaars of Arasta, Bedesten and Alipaşa in the morning, followed in the afternoon with visits to the Great Synagogue, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Monument of the Turkish Baby and, finally, the Monument Lozan – Monument Commemorating the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 – the Treaty that returned the region of Edirne to the Turkish Republic.
The morning of the second day of the visit was occupied with bilateral meetings between the ENPP delegation and the Municipality of Edirne: first, with the heads of the EU&International Relations Office of the city of Edirne, during which the cross-border projects were presented involving Edirne and several Bulgarian cities, as well as the current ongoing projects of the ENPP, namely the preparation of the 13th European Meeting of the Association that will take place in the German city of Markranstädt in October. This was followed by a meeting with the Deputy Mayor of Edirne City Council, Mr. Yaver Tetik, representing the Mayor, Mr. Recep Gürkan, who was absent abroad, in which various aspects related to the city’s involvement in the ENPP, with the ENPP delegation offering a stone painted by the Evoramonte artist Inocência Lopes representing the Convention House, where the Évora Monte Convention was signed, which ended with the so-called “Liberal Wars” in 1834.
In the afternoon of this day, it was also possible to visit the Health Museum Complex (Ottoman Hospital) before the departure of the ENPP delegation.
This visit helped to strengthen the collaborative ties between ENPP and the city of Edirne, which are expected to be strengthened in the future.
In the photo: the delegation of ENPP with Deputy Mayor Mr. Yaver Tetik and the Head of EU&International Relations Office, Ms. Ebru Karaca
After a period in which it was forced to hold its meetings online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Network of Places of Peace (ENPP) is already preparing its 13th European Meeting and 10th General Assembly, in person, the which is scheduled for the next 14th to 17th October 2021, in the German city of Markranstädt (Leipzig), the Municipality to which belongs the Altranstädt Castle, one of the most emblematic places of Places of Peace Route.
The 13th ENPP European Meeting will be organized by the Association for the Promotion of Altranstädt Castle, a founding member of the ENPP, and will be held at the premises of the Municipality of Markranstädt, whose support was essential to make the meeting possible.
The presence of delegations of ENPP members from the 9 European countries that integrate the Network is expected, as well as other public and private entities from other European countries which will be invited to participate in the meeting as observers.
This Meeting will focus its work on the discussion and approval of the 3-Year Activity Plan with which it is hoped to start a new phase in the Association’s life, namely through the reinforcement of its management structure, the increase of activities in the Route’s locations and the launch of transnational activities along the entire Route and between neighboring locations, the empowerment of the Scientific Council of Places of Peace Route as well as the support structure of this Route.
At the same time, ENPP members will discuss the Financial Plan to support the 3-Year Activity Plan, which includes greater financial involvement of Network members, namely public entities and the submission of applications for national and EU funds.
In the photo: Overview of Altranstädt Castle (see more at: https://placesofpeace.eu/destinations/altranstadt/)
