Belgrade, 28 September 2022 (MIA) – Representatives of the national theaters of Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania signed Wednesday a protocol for cooperation within the Open Balkan initiative, reports MIA’s Belgrade correspondent. The agreement, which was initiated at the recent Open Balkan forum in Ohrid, was signed by the acting director of the Belgrade National Theater, Svetislav Bule Goncic, the director of the National Opera and Ballet in Skopje, Vaso Ristov, and Abigela Voshtina of the National Theater, Opera and Ballet in Tirana, and it will be additionally signed by Simona Ugrinovska from the Macedonian National Theater. “In Ohrid we brought up the idea of possible cooperation on a cultural level, and we decided to establish the ‘Open Balkan – Theater Festival’, which would imply the exchange of experiences, teachers, artists and performances,” said the director of the Belgrade National Theater after the signing. The agreement was signed after discussions in Belgrade during which the representatives of the national theaters “agreed upon, and outlined the basic path of such a festival,” said Goncic. “The festival was birthed by the idea that we need to pave a path towards the future, especially for the youth, and to begin in a new concept and world. We spent a lot of time discussing the topic, and the official signing of the agreement formally marked this new beginning,” said Goncic. Expressing hope that the festival “will positively affect both the audiences and the creators themselves,” Goncic added that in the upcoming months preparations will be made for the practical implementation of the agreement and a decision will be made on how to proceed forward. “The Open Balkan festival is a chance for us to get closer and cooperate even more and help each other as institutions. If all is well, I believe that in 2023 we will begin to implement what we agreed upon today and yesterday,” said the director of the Skopje National Opera and Ballet. Abigela Voshtina from the National Theater, Opera and Ballet of Tirana, said that she is “happy to have been invited to Belgrade,” because she is certain that “together we can make great things.” “We are so close and in many ways we are similar. We have certain details and colors which differ, but with an open mind and reason we can achieve all of our goals,” said Voshtina. The signing of the agreement was also attended by Radovan Jovic, an advisor at the Serbian Ministry of Culture, who stated that “nothing can respond to mutual understanding like cultural cooperation, and today culture is needed more than ever before.” ad/ba/