Home News Europa Nostra contributes to the EU Hungarian Presidency Conference on the Protection of Cultural Heritage

Europa Nostra contributes to the EU Hungarian Presidency Conference on the Protection of Cultural Heritage

September 12, 2024 | Posted in Networking

On 9 September 2024 in Brussels, Belgium, the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union hosted a Conference on the Protection of Cultural Heritage, bringing together around 30 speakers and 200 participants from across the globe. The conference emphasised the critical role of local communities, NGOs, and EU institutions in preserving cultural heritage, particularly in regions affected by conflict. Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, participated in the opening session and following panel discussion. Europa Nostra also hosted a stand during the conference fair, raising awareness about its work and missions.

Great to see H.E. @odor_balint, Hungary’s Perm Rep to the EU, recognise achievements of #heritage actors & call for reinforced collaboration 💬 “We need an action-oriented approach focused on delivering support to cultural institutions which are vital to citizens in crisis areas” pic.twitter.com/FkzzlkTH5X

— Europa Nostra (@europanostra) September 9, 2024

The event gathered a variety of heritage stakeholders – both public and private – from across Europe and other continents to discuss endangered heritage in conflict and post-conflict areas outside the European Union, advocating for the potential of cultural heritage protection as soft power in the external policies of the EU, in order to achieve lasting peace, international security and prevent conflicts.

H.E. Bálint Ódor, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the EU opened the conference by asserting that the European Union should take greater responsibility for cultural heritage preservation beyond borders, in line with the Council Conclusions on EU Approach to Cultural Heritage in conflicts and crises adopted in 2021, which recognise the role of cultural heritage for the EU external relations as “an important vehicle for peace, democracy and sustainable development”.

In her keynote speech, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, highlighted: “Heritage-related cooperation projects provide a much-needed human and emotional dimension to enhance relations of trust and mutual respect that the EU shall develop with countries in the wider Europe and across the world”.

Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović also provided concrete ideas on how Europa Nostra’s EU-funded flagship initiatives can contribute to the EU external relations. These include the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards, which promote and celebrate best practices in heritage conservation, research, education and citizens’ engagement, as well as the 7 Most Endangered Programme run in partnership with the EIB Institute to save Europe’s threatened heritage.

In addition, in the frame of the EU-funded European Heritage Hub pilot project, Europa Nostra launched a Small Grants Scheme with the support of the ALIPH Foundation for heritage-related projects led by civil society organisations in the countries of the Caucasus, the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova. This agile and flexible funding instrument aims at empowering heritage stakeholders in these regions to address and embrace the challenges of the triple transformation of our society – green, digital and social.

These programmes can provide inspiration to other regions across the world to promote and preserve the shared heritage of humanity.

Lastly, the audience was reminded of another threat to cultural heritage: climate change. With COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, approaching, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović used this opportunity to remind that culture and heritage also provide solutions to define adaptation and mitigation measures, and called for a EU joint action in this field: “We call on all of the EU Member States to strengthen – together with the European Commission – the commitment of the Union to unleash the potential of culture and heritage-based climate action, within the EU but also on a global scale”.

Other key themes discussed by heritage stakeholders during the conference touched upon the potential of cultural heritage to rebuild peace, cohesion, resilience, and an inclusive dialogue in conflict areas, hence the vital need for its safeguard. The importance of community involvement in cultural heritage-related projects was also highlighted as a solution to drive democratic participation and preserve heritage in line with the local aspirations.

Europa Nostra welcomes the fact that Hungary highlighted cultural heritage in the programme of the Presidency (from 1 July to 31 December 2024). In a meeting held in June in Budapest, Balázs Péter Molnár, Deputy State Secretary for EU Policies at the Ministry of EU Affairs and Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, discussed Hungarian initiatives concerning cultural heritage.