europa nostra newsletter

CONTENTS

HIGHLIGHTS

Since May 2006, Europa Nostra…

• Held its Annual Congress in Malta from 15 to 20 May, in close cooperation with Din l-Art Helwa, (the National Trust of Malta). At the General Assembly, Dr Andrea H. Schuler took over office from Otto von der Gablentz as the new Executive President of Europa Nostra [more]

• Welcomed the membership of nine new heritage NGOs as Member Organisations and 56 public and private bodies as Associated Organisations [more]

• Organised a public Forum on cultural tourism in Saint Julian’s, Malta, on 19 May, and adopted the Malta Declaration on “Cultural Tourism: its Encouragement and Control” [more]

• Held meetings of its three Working Groups: “European Policy”, “Landscapes” and “Central and Eastern Europe” in Malta (17 May) [more]

• Presented the Awards to the laureates of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards during the European Awards Ceremony at the Palacio Real de El Pardo (Madrid) on 27 June, under the presidency of HM Queen Sofía of Spain and in the presence of European Commissioner Ján Figel' [more]

• Met representatives of Spanish heritage NGOs at a meeting organised by Hispania Nostra in Madrid (26 June) [more]

• Met representatives of Lithuanian heritage NGOs at a meeting organised in Vilnius, Lithuania (3 April)

• Announced the destinations and dates of the Heritage Tours 2007: 19-24 April: Lyon and surroundings, France; 8-14 May: Villas of the Veneto, Italy; September: Serbia; 16-21 October: Mallorca's Heritage, Spain; 1-14 November: Syria (French speaking tour) [more]

• Travelled to Russia, together with a delegation from the Council of Europe, to help organise the European Launch Ceremony of the European Heritage Days and the Colloquium on the “Values of Europe’s Cultural Heritage” to take place in Saint Petersburg on 21 and 22 September [more]

• Participated as an observer in the meeting of the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee on Cultural Heritage (CD PAT) in Strasbourg on, inter alia to present itself as the new Liaison Office for the European Heritage Days (10-11 May) [more]

• Provided input to the “Draft Report on the protection of the European natural and architectural cultural heritage in rural and island areas” by MEP Nikolaos Sifunakis, Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education [more]

• Sent a message to all Members of the European Parliament encouraging them to vote in favour of a number of amendments regarding cultural heritage to the report by MEP Jerzy Buzek on the 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (2007 to 2013) [more]

• Participated in a meeting of European heritage networks active in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, organized by the French Ministry for Culture and Communication, held in Paris (3 June)

• Participated in the inauguration ceremony of the recently restored Kurshumli Mosque (Pejë/Peć, Kosovo) organised by the Italian NGO InterSOS (3 July) [more]

• Participated in the 7th European Conference SAUVEUR “Safeguarded Cultural Heritage – Understanding & Viability for the Enlarged Europe , Prague, Czech Republic (31 May–3 June) more]

• Met Jean d’Haussonville, advisor on European and international affairs to French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, to exchange ideas on a proposal for a “European Heritage List” (20 June) [more]

• Met Frédéric Baleine du Laurens, Deputy Director General for Political Affairs at the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, to discuss Europa Nostra’s future activities related to the safeguarding of Kosovo’s endangered heritage (14 June)

• Met Ambassador Ina Marciulionyte, Lithuania’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, who acted as the Chair of the annual meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Vilnius, Lithuania (8-14 July) [more]

• Made a presentation on Europa Nostra, its aims and instruments at the Moscow School for Political Sciences (28 May)

• Participated in the General Assembly of its member organisation “Vieilles maisons françaises” (20 June)

• Participated in the European Conference “Promoting Cultural Education in Europe. A Contribution to Participation, Innovation and Quality” organised by the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, in Graz, Austria (8-10 June) [more]

• Participated in the International Conference “Cultural Heritage in the 21st Century. Opportunities and Challenges” in Cracow, Poland (24–28 May) [more]

• Participated in the seminar “Mediation in Historic Places”, organised by European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres (ENCATC) at the Abbey of Fontrevaud, France (30 March-1 April) [more]

• Participated in the ICOMOS Regional Meeting and Workshop in Seoul, South Korea (9-13 June) [more]

Europa Nostra also informs that:

• The European Council, at its latest meeting on 15 and 16 June in Brussels, adopted a renewed Sustainable Development Strategy for the European Union [more]

• On 7 June, the European Commission adopted a Green Paper on a Future Maritime Policy for the European Union [more]

• the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe awarded the Europe Prize to the Hungarian town of Szeged (12 May) [more]

• UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the President of Croatia jointly organised a Regional Forum on “Communication of Heritage: A New Vision for South East Europe ” held in Opatija, Croatia (1-2 June) [more]

• UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee met in Vilnius, Lithuania (8-16 July) [more]

• The Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament voted for the own initiative report of its Chairman Nikolaos Sifunakis MEP on the Protection of the European natural and architectural cultural heritage in rural and island areas. Brussels, Belgium (13 July) [more]

• ICOMOS created an International Scientific Committee on Interpretation and Presentation [more]

• The 2006 European Museum of the Year Awards were announced, during a ceremony at the Ajuda Palace, Lisbon, Portugal (13 May) [more]