On 20 May, members of the the cooperation project Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe were invited to attend the European Heritage Alliance 3.3 meeting in Brussels. Sigrid Van der Auwera from the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation presented a progress report on the project ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe’ to the Alliance 3.3 members. In addition to the progress report, Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe partners stressed the need for data and studies, in particular from the following countries which are underrepresented at the time: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta. Nevertheless additional studies from other countries are still very welcome.

The Alliance 3.3 meeting was also beneficial for the CHCFE partnership as they listened to invited guest, Lina Mendoni, Secretary General of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, who presented the Conclusions on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe, which were adopted the following day under the leadership of the Hellenic Presidency of the European Union.

Michel Magnier, Director ‘Culture and Creativity’ of the DG Education and Culture of the European Commission also joined the meeting and exchanged views with the members of the Alliance on the EC Communication on cultural heritage, which is currently being finalised.

The European cooperation project ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe: Towards a European Index for Cultural Heritage’ organised the third meeting of its Steering Committee on 19 May in Leuven, hosted by one of the project’s partners, the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation. Representatives from the consortium’s six partners came together to discuss the progress made in the implementation of the project, with a special emphasis on the collection of existing data on the impact of Europe’s cultural heritage on society and the economy.

Since the beginning of 2014, the International Cultural Centre in Poland and the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (KU Leuven) in Belgium have been gathering and analysing hundreds of existing research documents, reports and case studies that demonstrate heritage’s social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits on society as well as its impact on smart, sustainable, inclusive growth and quality of life.

The result of this collection and analysis will be presented in mid-June 2015 during the Europa Nostra’s Annual Congress in Oslo. The aim is to raise greater public awareness on the multiple benefits of cultural heritage and present policy recommendations to the EU Institutions for tapping into heritage’s full potential.

The next Steering Committee meeting will be organised in October at the International Cultural Center in Krakow, Poland.

The cooperation project ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe’ is supported by the Culture programme of the European Union.

For the first time ever, the Council of the European Union has adopted Conclusions on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe.

Under the leadership of the Hellenic Presidency of the European Union, the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council adopted these historic conclusions at its meeting on 21 May in Brussels.

These conclusions adopt a holistic policy approach by the EU to cultural heritage – tangible, intangible or digital – recognising it as a unique resource and a major asset for Europe and for the entire European project. The conclusions emphasize the important role that cultural heritage plays in creating and enhancing social capital, as well as its important economic impact and its specific role in achieving the Europe 2020 strategy goals for a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth because of its social and economic impact and its key contribution to environmental sustainability.

The conclusions call for more resources to be invested in cultural heritage and for the mainstreaming of cultural heritage in national and European policies. Member States are invited to consider including cultural heritage in the framework of the next Council Work Plan for Culture which will be implemented from 2015 onwards.

The European Commission is also invited to further support at EU level the networking of, and pooling of resources between, public and private sector heritage experts and practitioners as well as civil society organisations.

The Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe wishes to congratulate the Hellenic Presidency of the EU, and especially the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, for this major step forward in developing a comprehensive EU strategy for the protection and promotion of our shared cultural heritage, as a strategic resource for a sustainble Europe.

Read the EU Council Conclusions here.

Mid-May 2014, “Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe” project partners will meet in Leuven, Belgium for the 3rd Steering Committee meeting. Hosted by the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (RLICC), project partners will gather to discuss the onling gata collection, analysis and consolidation, methodology the future steps as the project partners prepare the Final Report due to be delivered in 2015.