Arts and Heritage Education and European Citizenship make Democracy work for Europe

In 1948 The Congress of Europe, here at The Hague, identified as the fundamental question of post-war Europe: Europe must unite. The fundamental question for the Europe for the 21st century will be: The EU must become a Europe of and for the citizens.

The reason for widespread euroscepsis, often resulting in eurosclerosis, is not that the EU has failed. The EU has been and is an unprecedented success of political reform, of modernising and pacifying our continent. But it cannot rely, as modern democratic structures have to, on the support of 450 million Europeans, although they are, since 1992 – complementing their national citizenship – also EU citizens.

The "fundamental democratisation" of our society has come a long way since a handful of farsighted and courageous political leaders decided to embark upon the long road to a united Europe . Today, as the heated debate about referenda in the ratification process of the draft European Constitutional Treaty reminds us once more, Europe needs the support of all its citizens. The only trouble is that these European citizens don't know that they are European citizens, they don't feel responsible for "their Europe". Bronislav Geremek put it concisely: "We do have Europe; now we are in need of Europeans".

We know from historical experience that citizens are not born. They are formed, educated to feel responsible for a community they belong to and which protects their lives and rights. Already for Aristotle polis and paideia – political community and education – were two sides of the same medal, a polity of free citizens.

Looking at the first half century of the European integration process, we have to conclude that the three main community-building factors have remained largely outside of Europe's reach, namely culture, education and democracy. These factors have formed the modern nation states on our continent since the early 19th century. They have shaped the feeling of belonging and identity as well as the concept of (exclusive) national citizenship. As an example I quote a proud article of Poland's modern constitution:
"Culture is the source of the identity of the Polish nation, its survival and its development".

I certainly do not want to belittle the pioneering steps taken by the EU and the Council of Europe within their very restricted competencies and means in the field of culture and education.

But they do not alter the conclusion that the community-building factors in today's Europe remain chasse gardée of nation states. The states have their reasons: political parties know that this national monopoly of forming citizens secures their power base. The result is a vicious circle: our democratic structures, which the EU does so much to promote and strengthen throughout the continent, work against Europe.

Not only at election times, our political leaders oppose national against European interests. I have yet to see the political leader who dares to proclaim that a well functioning EU is the most important of our national interests, securing as it does the peaceful framework of modern democracy and economy. But the exclusively national character of our democratic process creates an irresistible incentive for national political leaders to disregard common European interests. Only too often the EU becomes, in the words and actions of our political leaders, a convenient scapegoat for the shortcomings of national politics. I fear that we shall see much of it during the coming ratification process of the draft European Constitutional Treaty which finely balances the contradictory visions and organisational models for Europe’s future in order to make political progress possible. The Treaty is certainly an important step in the right direction but, at the same time, an impossible text to submit to citizens in a referendum.

The biggest challenge for Europe is: how to make democracy work for Europe and not against it. The key issue is educating 450 million national citizens to realise that they are also European citizens.

The aim of our conference is giving arts and heritage education a central place in our educational system and curricula. We have heard that arts education fosters creativity, personal fulfilment, self-confidence, and a spirit of innovation; that heritage education enhances a sense of belonging, civic responsibility and respect for cultural diversity. All of these are indispensable qualifications for young people to find their way in a modern world of "complexity and uncertainty". Many of these educational goals we find in the successive educational ideals – Bildungsideale – of our common European history, for instance the Knight of the Middle Ages, the Uomo Universale of the Renaissance, the Gentleman of the 18th century or the Bildungsbueger of the 19th. This educational canon also tallies with the conclusions of modern management science! The intellectual compass of your educational work seems to be more European than the national structures and orientation of educational system suggests.

But this common background of educational goals will not itself lead to responsible European citizenship and break the vicious circle; that national democratic structures have an in-built tendency to work against Europe. I would like to submit, for discussion and reflection, a few suggestions for giving arts and heritage curricula a European perspective in order to educate citizens who are aware of their rights and duties as European citizens:

1) Rethink the concept of citizenship which is still tied to the nation state. Responsible/committed citizenship is not necessarily only national. The Europe of the cities, for instance, is much older than that of nations. And within European cities – long before the arrival of nation states in our history – lie the roots, not only the name, of democratic participatory citizenship. The buildings, monuments and cityscapes of thousands of European cities – easily accessible for heritage education – testify to the civic spirit of its inhabitants. Here lies an enormous potential for arts and heritage education to overcome the burden of a relatively short period of cultural nationalism, namely the monopoly of citizenship and political identification only with the nation state. To make full use of this potential is certainly a noble task for educationalists and citizens and perfectly within the spirit of European tradition and European future. We are, in fact, today, what we used to be: at the same time citizens of our cities, our regions, our states and of Europe. But in doing so, we will have to overcome a political barrier, namely that the self interest of our political parties leads them to maintain the absolute predominance of national citizenship over local and European citizenship.

A practical suggestion: One of the great achievements of our "Europe without frontiers" is that the younger generations travel all over the place. They cannot help but discover the beauty of cities, villages and landscapes which have been shaped over many centuries or millennia. But if they are to believe their guide books, they only look at distinct national monuments – even dating from the by far longest periods of our history when there were no nation states. On our long way towards responsible European citizens, would it not be a good idea to provide our young and mobile generation of Europeans with a truly European Cicerone to monuments and cultural landscapes shaped by a shared European culture?

2) Rediscover our shared European culture, which has often been hijacked by rampant nationalism and misused to foster only national pride and even the feeling of national cultural superiority. European culture is not just diversity of cultures but also a common culture shared by all Europeans. Our shared heritage of buildings and cultural landscapes, visible and tangible, is the most accessible and convincing proof of its continuing existence.

Convinced Europeans had to make some effort to insert this simple truth into Article 3 of the draft Constitutional Treaty about the objectives of the European Union which now reads as follows:
"The Union shall respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity, and shall ensure that Europe 's cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced".

I recall that, fifty years ago, historians had to rediscover the European context of the patriotic history our children had been taught for a few generations. We had to learn, after two "European" World Wars, the bitter lesson that, in a nationalistic Europe , the next war was being prepared in school books. They were full of clichés about neighbouring countries, propagandistic images about peoples and their immutable national characters, even concepts like “hereditary enemies”.

Europe , after 1945, had to be rebuilt "against its history". Peace required – as one of the first confidence building measures” – that schoolbooks were rewritten. We had to break the vicious circle of "European civil wars" in the minds of the younger generation.

In the field of culture and heritage European progress had been slower. Here we deal with things we can be proud of. Heritage is the part of history we can be proud of. Nations like to keep it for themselves. Much remains to be done to put heritage into its European context. Characteristically, in a recent study by Europa Nostra and Euroclio, history teachers deplore that:
=> Heritage education is not fully embedded in history curricula
=> There are barely adequate teaching materials in heritage education
=> Heritage sites are exclusively related to local and national history.

We shall hear more about it at the EUROPA NOSTRA Forum "Heritage and Education" in The Hague on 1 October. Obviously, the aim of arts and heritage education in a European perspective is to ensure that future generations of Europeans are at home in all European countries, not just tourists.

3) Rediscover the whole spectrum of our common heritage

Let us face it, parts of our European heritage fell victim to wars or ideological purges. The most topical examples are the Islamic / Arabic roots of our European civilisation. We are now rediscovering the creative encounters of medieval Europe with the highly developed Arabic culture, often brought about by Jewish minorities in the cultural centres of Europe and the Middle East . The ongoing recollection of our European Islamic past might help us to find, in our modern pluralistic society, the right balance between respect for cultural differences and insistence on civic standards of our own society. This will, as we experience every day, remain a crucial problem for the future of our continent which will have to open for immigrants who will increase the already substantial number of especially Muslim citizens of Europe.

4) Prepare for a global dialogue of cultures

I must admit that I am tired of the repetitious, defensive assurance that Europe shall not try to "harmonise" cultural or educational policies. No one could do so anyway. The very character of European culture forbids it as well as "the constraints of cooperation" which will remain part of the EU's decision making structure. What looks like a liability from the point of view of administrative efficiency is in fact a model of a political unit which respects cultural diversity - at home and abroad. We have seen, in the past fifty years, that the integration process has two faces, centralising certain functions on a European level and, at the same time, inspiring a political decentralisation of centralised nation states. The organising principle of subsidiarity, now a principal part of the European legal system, seems to become a pervasive force of modern political life.

The EU, therefore, is well placed to fight the real threat to cultural diversity and heritage, namely the all-pervasive forces of market and media. To counterbalance these levelling forces, in an inevitably globalising world, is likely to become the central theme of a global dialogue of cultures. Such a dialogue – often called for – is overdue if we want to avoid the much invoked "clash of civilisations". An EU with a strong cultural profile would have the international credibility to initiate such a dialogue. The European model of "uniting in diversity" could be made to appeal to those who know that globalisation is inevitable, but who will not accept it at the expense of cultural diversity.

5) Strengthen the cultural dimension of the EU

Obviously, Europe would only be able to play its role as advocate of cultural diversity in a world-wide dialogue if the EU is able to develop a much stronger cultural dimension. This will not happen automatically. Nor would it happen by the force of circumstances which has led, for instance, to the widening of EU tasks in the field of internal security after the abolition of border control. It will only come about if governments and citizens realise that Europeans have got to work together to preserve their own national and regional culture. Diversity requires cooperation and joint action!

To avoid misunderstandings: I am not pleading for a transfer of constitutional powers from member states to the Union . I plead for making full use of existing policy instruments by the Union . I also plead for governments to cooperate with the Union in all areas where a European guidance is in everybody's interest.

What is essential is that, in the process, the Union acquires a stronger cultural profile:

- in Europe , showing citizens a more attractive "human face", replacing slowly the caricature of "faceless Brussels bureaucrats"
- in the world, becoming what the founding fathers envisaged "the political expression of the European civilisation".

6) Realise the cultural potential of Enlargement

By taking their place in the EU the central European states have testified to the vitality of our common culture. Nationalism and Cold War, Communism and Soviet domination could not destroy the bonds created by many centuries of shared culture. The new member states are justly proud of their national culture and proud of being European. This pride is all the stronger as they had to fight for preserving their national and European heritage.

The enlargement of the European Union opens therefore a window of opportunity for introducing a European focus into heritage education. Projects and cooperation with schools in the new member states could open the eyes for the shared European heritage which we have to preserve for future generations.

7) Towards a European Renaissance

Allow me to introduce my final point with a quote from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, certainly a pillar of Europe 's literary heritage:
"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune....
[omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in misery].

There are reasons to think that, after half a century of mainly economic and institutional integration, the EU may now get a second chance of building a sustainable European structure which citizens can identify with because it has a clear cultural profile.

• There is a growing debate about a cultural dimension of the integration process.
• There is also a growing awareness that our national democratic structures do not fit the European realities of our life.
• There is the growing pressure to thoroughly review all educational systems in order to prepare a younger generation for life and work in a new society for which we use, for want of prophetic gifts, the catchwords of knowledge society, communication society, globalisation.

To respond to these three interrelated challenges there will have to be a new emphasis on our shared European culture, on European citizenship and on educational reform in a European perspective. In that context, arts and heritage education will have to play an indispensable role. If we do not respond – by common or coordinated European action – to these challenges, we will lose what we have achieved in more than fifty years of European integration. We would miss the historic tide of reasserting, for the 21 st century, the aims of the European integration process the founding fathers had in mind fifty years ago. As Shakespeare knew:
….."all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in misery”.

Historians have said that one of the distinguishing features of the European civilisation has always been its capacity of renewal, of Renaissance – the rediscovery of the past in order to shape the future. Would it not be for those engaged in arts and heritage education, a noble ambition to ensure that future historians could describe the ongoing process of European integration as one of the great periods of renaissance we have known in the course of European history?