The municipality of Prizren in the beginning of this week, has announced in its official webpage that for the promotion of cultural heritage and the easier orientation of the foreign visitors, there have been placed some informative signboards, which show the way to and the distance from the cultural monuments or important institutions. The said project has been implemented by the Directorate of Tourism and  Rural Development, while the signboards have been placed in the main crossroads of the city.

EC Ma Ndryshe considers that this step, even though delayed, is a welcome and right investment for the municipality of Prizren. Nevertheless, EC takes notice that this project is comprised of a number of mistakes that must be addressed:

The different municipalities of Kosovo during the last years in different occasions have placed signs for their needs for promotion and for the orientation of the visitors. Unfortunately, the issue of the regulation of the marking of the localities of cultural heritage hasn`t been regulated until late by the central levels. In the 20th September of this year the public consulting process for Drafting- Administrative Manual Nr. XX/2018 for the specifics of the Marking of Cultural Heritage and Touristic Locations led by MKRS, has been concluded. For this reason, EC considers that this move on the side of the Prizren municipality has been hasty and presents an unreasonable expense of the public money for an investment, which will soon be replaced in order for it to meet the required standards.

•    The placed signs have technical and substantial mistakes. Most of the signs have many ortographic mistakes, which is why in some cases there are inaccuracies, while sometimes the inaccurate translations from the relevant languanges present serious defects. There are also mistakes in the calculation of distances from the placed location to the destination. EC recommends that the municipality of Prizren, more precisely the Directorate of Tourism and Rural Development takes into consideration the mentioned issues and addresses them in a prioritized way.

For more, on June of this year EC Ma Ndryshe has published the research ``The chaotic marking and advertising in the Historic Center of Prizren``, which deals with the identification of the visual degradation of the Historic Center of Prizren phenomenon through the lack of appropriate marking and the uncontrolled advertising and the implementing of applicable laws. The research in the recommendations part gives many suggestions on the actions to be taken in this field. For the full research watch:  https://bit.ly/2OJLyOQ