Europa Nostra issues Brussels Manifesto “Heritage Matters for Europe – Europe Matters for Heritage”
Read the full Brussels Manifesto (PDF)
The Brussels Manifesto calls for Europe’s cultural and natural heritage to stand at the very heart of European strategies, budgets, and policies. The Brussels Manifesto “Heritage Matters for Europe – Europe Matters for Heritage” has just been issued by Europa Nostra, the leading European heritage civil society network, also on behalf of the European Heritage Hub consortium of partners. The Brussels Manifesto is the key outcome of the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2025 held on 12-15 October in the capital of EU decision-making.
At the European Cultural Heritage Summit in Brussels, representatives of civil society, policymakers, artists, heritage professionals, academics, and students reaffirmed that Europe’s shared heritage is a foundation of democracy, wellbeing, and resilience.
At a decisive moment for Europe — as the European Commission is about to publish the Culture Compass for Europe and the next EU long-term budget (2028-2034), known as the Multiannual Financial Framework, is being prepared — the Brussels Manifesto highlights the guiding role of heritage:
“For twenty years, the Faro Convention has shown that heritage is a living light — connecting communities, empowering citizens, and guiding Europe. The Culture Compass for Europe charts our direction, but it is heritage — through our passion, expertise, and engagement — that illuminates the path toward peace, democracy, and shared values,” states the Brussels Manifesto.
Building on this vision, the Brussels Manifesto urges the European Union to take bold and coordinated action in seven key areas:
1. Navigating Europe: Culture Compass and Strategic Investment
Culture and heritage must be central to European policy and funding. The Brussels Manifesto calls for allocating at least 2% of the EU budget to culture and heritage through the AgoraEU programme, ensuring that cultural and heritage investments reach not only national institutions but also cities, regions, rural communities, and civil society actors, recognising their vital role in promoting inclusion, democracy, and solidarity, and empowering them to contribute meaningfully.
2. Empowering People: Skills, Participation and Innovation
Heritage thrives through people. The Brussels Manifesto highlights the need to strengthen education, training, and innovation in craftsmanship, digital skills, AI literacy, and climate solutions. It promotes youth engagement, volunteering, and intergenerational learning, while recognising heritage professionals as key actors in sustainability and social cohesion.
3. Safeguarding Tangible Heritage
Historic sites, monuments, landscapes, and museums are anchors of community life. The Brussels Manifesto calls for sustainable renovation, adaptive reuse, conservation, and digitisation, all integrated into climate-resilient planning. EU-funded projects should adhere to quality principles and align with the New European Bauhaus and other European heritage frameworks.
4. Celebrating Intangible Heritage
Traditions, languages, music, (performing) arts, and craftsmanship are vital living expressions of Europe’s diverse culture. The Brussels Manifesto urges protection, promotion, and community-led initiatives, along with international exchange to ensure traditions evolve while fostering cross-cultural dialogue.
5. Heritage as a Bridge Builder
Heritage connects Europe beyond its borders. The Brussels Manifesto calls for its integration into EU enlargement and neighbourhood policies, supporting cross-border projects, reconciliation, trust-building, and democratic participation to achieve cohesion in Europe based on our shared heritage and values.
6. Global Connections
Europe must champion heritage as a driver of sustainability, international cultural relations, and global partnerships. The Brussels Manifesto advocates for mainstreaming culture in international agendas, supporting a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for Culture, and strengthening Europe’s cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations while upholding cultural rights.
7. Heritage for Peace, Memory and Resilience
Protecting heritage in conflict and crisis zones is both an ethical duty and a strategic priority. The Brussels Manifesto stresses that heritage recovery is essential to peacebuilding and humanitarian action and highlights international cultural relations and heritage diplomacy as key tools linking culture with security, human rights, stability, and democracy.
The Brussels Manifesto calls on European, national, regional, and local leaders, policymakers, opinion-makers, and civil society to place cultural and natural heritage — both tangible and intangible — at the heart of Europe’s future. By promoting dynamic partnerships between communities and institutions, heritage is positioned as a catalyst for inclusion, dialogue, and shared values.
As Europe develops its political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental frameworks, heritage should be recognised not merely as a record of the past, but as a living force driving peace, democracy, growth, and sustainability. It unites people across the continent, celebrates diversity, and provides a wellspring of creativity, innovation, and resilience, anchoring Europe’s shared values in times of profound transformation.
Read the full Brussels Manifesto (PDF)
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