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Less than two months after the adoption of the far-reaching EU Council Conclusions on cultural heritage as a strategic resource for a sustainable Europe, the European Commission has adopted on 22 July its Communication which paves the way for an integrated approach to cultural heritage in Europe.
This important policy document aims to help Member States and stakeholders to make the most of the significant support for heritage available under EU instruments and also calls for stronger cooperation at EU level to share ideas and best practices, which can feed into national heritage policies and governance. It highlights the opportunities for Member States and stakeholders to work more closely across borders to address the many challenges facing the heritage sector, and also to ensure that cultural heritage makes an even stronger contribution to a sustainable Europe.
The Communication also states that “To increase understanding of the actual and potential role of heritage in policy development, it is important to improve systematic data on its economic and social impacts,” and goes on to provide the Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe project as one important example in the way forward.
The European Commission has also released an accompanying “Mapping Report” which provides a comprehensive overview of EU policies, legislation, programmes and funding opportunities relevant to cultural heritage.
The Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe project consortium congratulates Mrs Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, and the DG Education and Culture, for this new crucial step forward in developing a comprehensive EU strategy for the protection and enhancement of Europe’s shared cultural heritage.
LINKS:
Mapping of Cultural Heritage actions in European Union policies, programmes and activities
The 4th Steering Committee meeting of the Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe project will be held in Krakow, Poland from 16-17 October 2014. Hosted by CHCFE project partner, the International Cultural Centre, CHCFE Steering Committee members will meet for two days to discuss their collection and analysis of existing research on the impacts of cultural heritage.
A Central European Round Table is also being planned. Steering Committee members will be joined by leading heritage specialists from Central Europe, including experts who participated in the collection of existing research and texts on the multiple benefits of cultural heritage. The aim of this round table is to broaden knowledge on the subject, foster trans-European discussions, and raise awareness on the particularities of heritage in the Central European region and specific countries.
Project partners will summarize their work and findings in a final report due in June 2015 which aims to present solid and persuasive arguments for convincing policy and decision makers on the impact and multiple benefits of investing in European heritage.
The seminar, “Does Cultural Heritage Count for Europe?”, will be held on Friday, 19 September 2014 in the framework of the 22nd ENCATC Annual Conference “New Challenges for the Arts and Culture: Is it just about money?” (17-19 September 2014, Brno, Czech Republic). On this occasion, representatives of the CHCFE consortium will contribute expertise on how to convince both private and public bodies to support and finance heritage and museums.
This seminar will explore these questions by inviting members and followers of “Understanding Heritage” and “Museums in Europe” Thematic Areas, as well as academics, researchers, managers and cultural operators from the field who are working to demonstrate the economic, aesthetic, and social impacts of cultural heritage and museums in Europe.
Providing strong evidence of cultural heritage’s impact is crucial to influence policy makers, public and private authorities and society at large. In this session the participants will also have the opportunity to learn from the first outcome from the project Cultural Heritage Counts from Europe as well as from the ongoing research on that topic run by from projects led by the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO) and heritage operators from ENCATC and Europa Nostra will nourish the discussions. This seminar will also take this opportunity to reflect on what all this means for those providing education and training in heritage and museum management and how they can prepare the next generation of heritage and museum professionals entering these challenging times.
REGISTER HERE to attend this seminar organised in the framework on the 22nd ENCATC Annual Conference.
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