CHCFE discussion panel with representatives from the European Commission and European Parliament and heritage experts.

On 3 February in Leuven, Belgium, to launch the “Heritage Counts” international conference, CHCFE project leader, Europa Nostra, co-organised a panel discussion inviting EU representatives and heritage experts to discuss Europe’s heritage.

To set the context, the Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe project was presented by Koenraad Van Balen, Director of the Raymond Lemaire International for Conservation and Jacek Purchla, Director of the International Cultural Centre in Poland. Two case studies were also presented:  “The Living Cabanyal Archive” by Elida Maiques, Member of the Cabanyal team, Valencia (Spain) – winner of a EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award 2013 (category Education, Training and Awareness-Raising), and “The Westergasfabriek” by Liselore van der Heijden, Deputy Director, Amsterdam (the Netherlands) – winner of an EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award 2010 (category Conservation).

The panel discussion, moderated by the Secretary General of Europa Nostra, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, included: Mircea Diaconu, Rapporteur of the European Parliament on the Resolution ‘Towards an integrated approach to cultural heritage for Europe’, Xavier Prats Monné, Director-General of the European Commission for Education and Culture, Kate Pugh, Chief Executive of The Heritage Alliance and a CHCFE project partner, and Gábor Soós, Head of Division of World Heritage and International Cooperation at the Gyula Forster National Centre for Cultural Heritage Management, Hungary.

The panel discussion highlighted the need for policy makers to have better access to information about the impact of cultural heritage in Europe, the need to mainstream cultural heritage, to create a platform for best practice and to ensure the preservation of knowledge by continuing to collect existing evidence (research, literature, case studies, etc.) on the multiple benefits of cultural heritage.

Presentation of the CHCFE project at the “Heritage Counts” international conference.

The “Heritage Counts” conference was organised by The Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (RLICC) and CHCFE project partner. This event brought together academics, researchers, heritage professionals and policy makers to discuss cultural heritage from different perspectives. The four-day agenda included more than 30 presentations about discourse, strategies, and case studies dealing with the economic, social, environmental and cultural impacts of cultural heritage were among the topics presented. Presenters came from all over Europe and as far away as China, Ecuador, Japan and the United States.

On 2 February, the Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe project held its 5^th Steering Committee meeting in Leuven, Belgium. Europa Nostra, the project leader, chaired the meeting. 14 representatives from the project’s six partners were in attendance.

The project is moving closer to the delivery of its main output – a report on the multiple benefits of cultural heritage in Europe. This meeting in Leuven was a valuable moment to discuss the key findings gathered by project partners the International Cultural Centre (ICC) in Poland and the Raymond Lemaire International Center for Conservation (RLICC) in Belgium. The report uses a cultural heritage impact matrix to present in detail the potential of cultural heritage and its intersecting influences across all aspects of society: cultural, social, economic, and environmental. At the intersection or heart of the matrix is sustainable development. To accompany the report, the Steering Committee will produce a summary along with recommendations.

The results of these two years of gathering and analysing existing data and evidence on the impact of cultural heritage in Europe will be presented at the project’s final conference on 12 June 2015 in Oslo, Norway, held in the  framework of the Europa Nostra Congress.

The time in Leuven was also used to discuss the project’s sustainability after it concludes in June 2015. It is clear the work done by the project to collect this evidence has great value to ensure the preservation of knowledge. Gathering evidence, often quite dispersed across the European continent, makes it more likely important research will not be overlooked. SC members spoke about possibilities to continue the collection of existing data, evidence, literature, discourse and policy review, and case studies to further understand the impact of Europe’s cultural heritage and raise awareness in order to demonstrate its value.

Project partners from Poland and Belgium present findings from the CHCFE report.

The final results of the European cooperation project “Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe” (CHCFE) will be presented on 12 June 2015 in Oslo, Norway. The CHCFE conference, which will be held at the Domus Media of the University of Oslo, is one of the main events of the 2015 European Heritage Congress organised by Europa Nostra, a CHCFE project partner. All the CHCFE project partners will be in Oslo for the presentation of the conclusions of the project. This follows two years of collaboration to map and analyse the multiple benefits of cultural heritage. On this occasion, project partners will also make policy recommendations aimed at tapping into heritage’s full potential. The event will be attended by heritage professionals, academics, researchers, policy-makers and high-level representatives from EU institutions and Member States.

To close the day dedicated to the “Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe” project, Europa Nostra is organising a networking cruise along the Oslo fjord on-board the Christian Radich, a three mast sailing ship built in 1937.

The European Heritage Awards Ceremony is the absolute highlight of the  European Heritage Congress in Oslo (10-14 June). The winners of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2015 will be honoured on the evening of 11 June at a high-profile event at the Oslo City Hall, internationally-known for hosting the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. The congress will feature a workshop dedicated to Youth and Cultural Heritage, as well as visits to some of the main cultural attractions in Oslo, such as the world-famous Viking Ship Museum. Europa Nostra’s Industrial and Engineering Heritage Committee will organise an excursion to Kistefos Traesliberi, Norway’s largest grained wood pulp mill founded in 1889.  Many other events will be held during the congress.

For more information:
http://www.europanostra.org/coming-events/2154/