CULTURAL HERITAGE COUNTS FOR EUROPE

VII. CONCLUDING REMARKS

“We feel that, at this crucial stage of European integration, the EU as the most dynamic political force in shaping the Europe of the future, shoulders a special responsibility for ensuring that the common heritage of our continent will be preserved for coming generations.”
Otto von der Gablentz , Executive President, Europa Nostra (15)

Heritage conservation, enhancement and heritage education should be fully exploited as a valuable resource for building a “Europe of the citizens”. They are an indispensable building block of a sustainable European edifice citizens can be proud of and in which they feel at home. Only an EU with a strong commitment to preserving Europe's cultural heritage will be able to ensure the cohesion of our continent. Only such an EU will be able to assert its position in the worldwide dialogue of cultures and to mitigate the levelling influences of economic globalisation.

At this historical juncture of its integration process, Europe has got a chance to overcome one of its most serious handicaps: the relative lack of committed and loyal citizens. The EU has to make use of the political potential of heritage-related activities. After all, Europe's historical buildings and cultural landscapes are the visible and tangible witnesses that, together with the intangible forms of heritage, reflect a common civilisation all Europeans share and care. Unity and diversity have never been contradictions in Europe’s cultural evolution. They are the two sides of the same coin, an original European civilisation characterised by its amazing diversity.

What really matters is the awareness of all Europeans, citizens as well as national and European authorities, that cultural heritage is fundamental to European integration and cooperation. It helps us to realise that our shared historical experience consists of more than the memory of murderous European civil wars. A generation of Europeans who can "read" and understand the European character of our historic buildings and cultural landscapes will be able to place their own regional and national past, and indeed present, within the context of Europe – an important step towards a development of a sense of European citizenship. Heritage education should therefore be one of the priorities of a wider EU cultural strategy.

In fully implementing its mandate in the field of culture and especially in the field of the safeguarding and enhancing of our common European heritage, the EU has also got the chance of changing the largely economic and technocratic image, presented all too often by the media and therefore perceived as such by its citizens. A European Union which is seen as an active promoter of heritage conservation would appeal to millions of citizens. It would develop a more human face, becoming slowly what the founding fathers, more than half a century ago had in mind, the political expression of our common European civilisation.

Europa Nostra stands ready to contribute to a Europe which draws its strength from a renewed awareness of its shared cultural heritage.

(15) “Heritage and the building of Europe : a special role for Europa Nostra”, concluding article by Otto von der Gablentz (pages 154 – 158) in the book “Heritage and the Building of Europe”, already cited.