europa nostra newsletter
Spring/Summer 2007
Europa Nostra Annual Congress 2007 The Europa Nostra Annual Congress 2007 took place from Tuesday5 June until Friday 8 June in Stockholm , Sweden . The Annual Congress was closed by a festive dinner, which was the occasion to pay tribute and thank most sincerely our retiring President, HRH the Prince Consort of Denmark, for his 17 years of dedicated commitment to Europa Nostra and its action for the protection and enhancement of heritage throughout Europe . It was also the opportunity to most warmly welcome HRH The Infanta Doña Pilar de Borbón, who was elected by the Europa Nostra General Assembly as the new President of the federation. The festive dinner was also the occasion to celebrate the laureates of the 2006 edition of the annual European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards. The Awards were presented to the representatives of the awarded achievements at the annual European Heritage Awards Ceremony, which took place on 8 June 2007 in the Stockholm City Hall in Sweden . HRH the Prince Consort of Denmark, President of Europa Nostra, Ján Figel', Member of the European Commission responsible for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, HRH Princess Madeleine, Patron of Europa Nostra Sweden and Mrs Lena Adelsohn-Liljeroth, Swedish Minister of Culture, participated in this major event. The ceremony was honoured by the presence of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden .
Europa Nostra Forum "Add Modernism!" As part of this year's Annual Congress, on Thursday 7 June 2007, Europa Nostra, in cooperation with the Swedish Association of Architects and DOCOMOMO International, organised the Forum "Add Modernism!". The aim of the Forum was to raise awareness among the general public, but also among decision-makers, of the contribution of 20th century modernism to Europe 's cultural heritage. The Forum was therefore primarily policy and action orientated and presented to the participants the fundamental arguments for considering modernism as an integral part of Europe's cultural heritage. The arguments focused on the cultural “raison d’être” of modernism and its contributions to the European culture, and on more technical and functional aspects of the conservation of modernist buildings and sites. At the end of the Forum, Europa Nostra presented a declaration on the importance of adding the modernist cultural heritage to the "conservation agenda" at local, national and European level. The Forum "Add Modernism!" was preceded by a Panel Discussion on Swedish Heritage, with representatives of main Swedish Heritage NGOs. The Panel Discussion was honoured by the presence of Their Majesties the King and the Queen of Sweden, and of HRH Princess Madeleine, Patron of Europa Nostra Sweden. The Panel Discussion and the Forum took place in the Auditorium of the Moderna Museet, located on Skeppsholmen. Further information Sander van der Ven, Europa Nostra Information Officer, io@europanostra.org
Inventory of Heritage Organisations in Europe website online On 11 May 2007, Europa Nostra Secretary General Sneska Quaedvlieg Mihailovic met Council Member Piet Jaspaert (President of VCM Contactforum voor Erfgoedverenigingen) and Natan Bruneel (Project manager) to discuss Europa Nostra’s possible participation in the Inventory of Heritage Organisations in Europe (IHOE), an initiative developed by three leading Flemish heritage umbrella organisations with the financial support of the Flanders Government. The aim of the project is to offer an online searchable database of all heritage NGOs across Europe active in the wider field of heritage (built and natural, movable and immovable, tangible and intangible). This instrument, open for consultation to the public should help heritage NGOs across Europe finding partners and exchanging ideas and experiences in the field of heritage management and enhancement. Europa Nostra has been asked to participate in the Steering Committee that shall define the project’s future activities, more specifically the organisation of a European Conference on the role of civil society organisations in the field of cultural heritage, to be organised in Belgium in late 2008, early 2009. Europa Nostra welcomes this initiative and encourages its member organisations and other heritage NGOs to register, and thus help create a comprehensive overview of the civil society organisations active in the field of cultural heritage in Europe. Further information
Central and Eastern Europe Working Group meeting Kraków, Poland, 26 - 27 April 2007 Europa Nostra’s Central and Eastern Europe Working Group met from 26-27 April at the International Cultural Centre in Kraków (Poland). Amongst the main issues addressed were: the future priorities of the Working Group in the context of Europa Nostra’s Activity Plan 2008-2010; the situation of cultural heritage in South-East Europe including a presentation by Mr Velimir Matanovic (Kosovska Mitrovica); the conflicts between heritage preservation and development in the historic cities of Central and Eastern Europe; as well as the specificity of intercultural dialogue in the region in the context of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008. The afternoon of the 27 April was devoted to an exchange of views with over 40 representatives of heritage NGOs in Poland. Further information
European Maritime Heritage Congress Rotterdam, 16 - 18 April 2007 European Maritime Heritage’s 6th Congress took place in the port city of Rotterdam , a dynamic environment where old meets new. Europa Nostra’s participation in this event followed two prior meetings with Board Members of this European heritage network whose main aim is to preserve the floating heritage (historic ships) by keeping them in operation. European Maritime Heritage recently applied for Europa Nostra membership. Mr Roelf Rogaar, who was elected Europa Nostra’s new Treasurer in Stockholm on 6 June 2007, addressed the participants, together representing a wide range of stakeholders in the wider field of maritime and coastal heritage preservation. Most speakers took advantage of the presence of John Richardson, Chairman of the EC Maritime Policy Task Force, to deliver some recommendations and requests in view of the European Commission’s work on a future EU Maritime Policy. Further information Thedo Fruithof, EMH Secretary, thedo@wxs.nl
Heritage Led Regeneration - Producing Good Practice Verona, Italy, 28 February - 2 March 2007 Delegates at the 2007 Verona Congress learnt about the implementation of heritage led regeneration projects from all of the 6 city INHERIT partners (Verona (Italy), Newcastle (UK), Ubeda (Spain), Belfast (Northern Ireland), Göteborg (Sweden) and Gdansk (Poland)). The Symposium was structured around the following themes: strategic approaches, public domain, community involvement, cultural approaches and new uses for heritage buildings. The INHERIT project aims to increase the capability of towns and cities to regenerate physically, economically and socially by investing in their physical heritage. In the Verona Declaration, delegates reaffirmed the importance of heritage as a central feature of regeneration in relation to these themes. These conclusions will be taken forward to the INHERIT good practice guide. Europa Nostra was represented by its Council Member architect Rossana Bettinelli of Italia Nostra. Further information
Regional heritage NGO Meeting organised by Slovenia Nostra Ljubljana, Slovenia, 27 - 28 January 2007 On 27 and 28 January 2007 , Slovenia Nostra, Europa Nostra’s country representation in Slovenia , organised a meeting with representatives of heritage NGOs from neighbouring countries. The aim was to exchange ideas and best practices and to explore ways of possible future cooperation. The meeting was organised in the context of the General Assembly of Slovenia Nostra and attracted about 50 participants representing local heritage NGOs (including “The Paths of Cultural Heritage Foundation”, a member organisation of Europa Nostra), expert organisations (ICOM, ICOMOS) and government institutions from across Slovenia . During the General Assembly Mr Slavko Mezek was elected Slovenia Nostra’s new President, to take over from Mrs Marutjka Hafner. The invited organisations from neighbouring countries were represented by Dr Irina Subotic (Europa Nostra in Serbia), Dr Wiltraud Resch (Europa Nostra in Austria), Prof Gabor Winkler (Hungaria Nostra Federation), Arch Rossana Bettinelli (Italia Nostra), each of whom gave a presentation about their organisation’s aims and activities. Mark Snethlage, Policy and Campaigns Office r, made a presentation about Europa Nostra’s most recent activities and achievements. The main topics discussed in the open debate included 'heritage and cultural tourism', 'cultural heritage and intercultural dialogue' and the role of voluntary organisations in heritage conservation (including funding). The organisations agreed to study the possibility to submit a proposal for a cross-border project on intercultural dialogue to coincide with Slovenia ’s Presidency of the European Union in the first semester of 2008. Further information Spela Spanzel, Slovenia Nostra, spela@siol.si
Guidance note from Users and Clients Advisory Group for the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP) Throughout 2006 and 2007, Europa Nostra was represented by Laurie Neale at meetings of the European Construction Technology Platform (ECTP) Advisory Group for Users and Clients, where a guidance note outlining user and client perspectives - including cultural heritage concerns - was drafted so that User and Client needs and concerns be incorporated in the formulation and assessment of proposals to be submitted for European Community FP7 (Seventh Framework Programme) funding in the fields of technological development and demonstration activities. The FP7 will run from 2007 to 2013. At the beginning of April 2007, the ECTP User and Client Advisory Group guidance note was sent to ECTP Focus Area Leaders to be included in their recommendations for the drafting of FP7 Calls for Funding Submissions / Research Proposals. The European Commission recommended the creation of the ECTP Advisory Group for Users and Clients (as well as one for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) so that the interests of Users and Clients (and SME) not be overlooked by big business / big construction companies when these join forces to set up 'consortia' to propose Research projects through which to apply for the EU FP7 research money when it comes available. The idea is that Users and Clients needs be voiced at various stages of the research process and that the consideration of User and Client needs be a basic requirement for the research projects being accepted and of how they will be evaluated. In 2006, Europa Nostra followed and participated in the preparation of the European Community FP7, contributing to the public hearing “Sustainable Development, Natural and Cultural Heritage Research” organised by MEP Cristina Gutiérrez-Cortines (EPP), where ways of promoting research in those fields and the need to increase the presence of cultural heritage within the different themes of EU research programmes were discussed. Further information ECTP Guidance Note - Suggested contents for a user/client |
