Europa Nostra and ALIPH reinforce their partnership to protect cultural heritage in EU neighbouring countries and to promote a culture-based climate action

Europa Nostra, the European Voice of Civil Society committed to Cultural Heritage, and ALIPH, the International alliance for the protection of heritage in conflict areas, have strengthened their cooperation on two fronts. The first is to contribute to the protection of cultural heritage in EU neighbouring countries, in the frame of the EU-funded European Heritage Hub pilot project. The second is to support a Global Campaign for Culture-based Climate Action, led and financially supported by the Ministry of Culture of the United Arab Emirates.

On 29 November, these two agreements were signed by Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, and Valéry Freland, Executive Director of ALIPH, at the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris on the occasion of the celebrations of Europa Nostra’s 60th anniversary and of the French laureates of the 2023 European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards.

Valéry Freland, Executive Director of ALIPH, said “ALIPH congratulates Europa Nostra on this remarkable milestone, and today we celebrate its role as a leader in the promotion of cultural heritage both in Europe and on the world’s stage. The two agreements that we sign today signify not just our ongoing, trusted partnership with Europa Nostra, but also symbolise that in the face of crises and climate change, no one organisation is enough to protect humanity’s cultural heritage. We need an alliance of the willing to ensure that our patrimony is protected for future generations. I would also like to thank the European Union for its support to the European Heritage Hub, and the Ministry of Culture of the United Arab Emirates for funding the Global Campaign for Culture-based Climate Action.”

Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, said “Europa Nostra and I wish to extend our sincere gratitude to the ALIPH Foundation for its confidence and increased support and we warmly welcome this important global cultural heritage player as a new associate partner of the European Heritage Hub project which is funded by the European Union. In partnership with ALIPH, with its vast experience in safeguarding heritage in conflict areas, we shall together encourage and enable heritage-led and cross-border activities that encourage peace-building, reconciliation, dialogue and promote our shared values through the care for our shared heritage. We shall also join our voices and forces to demonstrate the vital role of culture and cultural heritage for climate action at all levels, from local to global. Special thanks to the UAE government for their support to this key action. We look forward to implementing these important objectives together with the entire European Heritage Hub Consortium and many other partners.”

Support to Heritage-related Projects led by Civil Society in 11 neighbouring countries of the European Union

ALIPH has committed 110.000 USD to contribute to the launch and running of the European Heritage Hub Small Grants Scheme, which has been conceived to encourage and empower heritage stakeholders from Ukraine, Moldova, the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia), and the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia) to become active protagonists of the wider European heritage movement.

These countries are either confronted with armed conflict, facing post-conflict challenges, or are in need of preventative measures, should tensions arise. The Small Grants Scheme will thus provide support for:

• Building the capacity of civil society;
• Enhancing the key role of cultural heritage for the triple transformation of our society, economy, and the environment (green, digital and social);
• Building peace, stability, reconciliation, intercultural and interreligious dialogue through heritage-led activities.

The Small Grants Scheme will be an agile and flexible funding instrument for allocating small, medium and larger grants to heritage-led initiatives. The Call for Applications will be published by January 2024 and submissions will be reviewed by a Selection Committee composed of partners of the European Heritage Hub project.

The Small Grants Scheme is part of the European Heritage Hub pilot project co-funded by the European Union.

Support to a Global Campaign for Culture-based Climate Action

This campaign, which is led and funded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Culture in partnership with the Climate Heritage Network/Europa Nostra and the ALIPH Foundation, will build on the growing determination of the heritage community and arts and creative sectors to put culture at the heart of climate policy. To help with planning, and to scale-up culture-based climate action, the campaign will demonstrate the vital intersections between culture, heritage and climate action.

With the support of the UAE Ministry of Culture, ALIPH has committed 100.000 USD to assist Europa Nostra in its capacity as the Leader of the European Heritage Hub Consortium, which is also providing the Secretariat for the “Culture at COP28 Working Group” of the Climate Heritage Network. Three civil society organisations are also a part of this strategy: Julie’s Bicycle (based in the UK), the Petra National Trust (based in Jordan), and The Siam Society (based in Thailand).

📢 Our Global Call for #Culture to be included in #ClimatePolicy has hit 1,000 signatories! This includes +250 leading organisations across the globe.

Sign on to ensure our voice is heard at #COP28 🌍 More details 📄👉https://t.co/yUjpp5dWVh #CultureAtCOP28 pic.twitter.com/kdlq9NqGjU

— European Heritage Hub (@EurHeritageHub) November 30, 2023

The primary objective of this initiative is to mainstream cultural and heritage perspectives into climate change policies, supporting and inspiring climate action by cultural voices, building the capacity of cultural actors for ambitious climate action, raising the alarm about climate change impacts on culture and heritage, and mobilising resources for its protection.

As put forward in the recently launched Global Call to Action, the two main focuses are to: a) ensure support by leading cultural voices and civil society organisations, from local to global levels, to create a “UNFCCC Group of Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action” to be launched at COP28 in Dubai during the “High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on Culture-Based Climate Action” on 8 December 2023; b) advocate for the adoption, within the UNFCCC framework, of a ground-breaking “Joint Work Decision on Culture and Climate Action”,  to pave the way for the implementation of a new, landmark UN work plan on culture, heritage, and climate action.

Read/download the full press release here.