Europa Nostra joins Caffè Europa meeting in Venice on the protection of Europe’s tangible and intangible heritage
The third edition of the Caffè Europa meetings series took place in Venice on 23 May. Organised by the Municipality of Venice with its Europe Direct Office, in collaboration with the Council of Europe Office in Italy and the European Parliament Liaison Office. The event explored actions these entities can take and have already taken to better protect both tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović joined the meeting in her capacity as Secretary General of Europa Nostra and Project Leader of the European Heritage Hub, upon the invitation of Luisella Pavan-Woolfe, outgoing Director of the Council of Europe Office in Italy.
EN in 🇮🇹 This week we joined the 3rd Caffè Europa meeting in #Venice, organised by the 🇪🇺 & City of Venice on the protection of material & immaterial #CulturalHeritage. Our SG @SneskaEN spoke about #heritage as the foundation for a more peaceful, democratic & inclusive #Europe. pic.twitter.com/y7So0roePM
— Europa Nostra (@europanostra) May 26, 2023
The meeting took place in the historical Caffè Florian located in Piazza San Marco and was moderated by Giovanni De Luca, Director of Rai Veneto. Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra; Ermelinda Damiano, President of the Council of the City of Venice; Luisella Pavan-Woolfe, Director Italian Office of the Council of Europe; and Paola Marini, Chairwoman of the International Private Committees for the Safeguarding of Venice participated in the discussion.
Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, stressed that Europe faces a number of growing social and environmental challenges. Without enforced protection and promotion of our heritage and shared values, these will be difficult to overcome. Yet, our past contains many lessons on our relationship with nature and will help us tackle climate change for a better future. She also explained that the triple transformation of our society (green, social and digital) will be the core focus of the newly launched EU-funded European Heritage Hub, led by Europa Nostra with a strong consortium of 20 partners active in the wider field of heritage.
Paola Marini spoke about the fundamental role participation has historically played in cultural exchanges and underlined that this is an integral part of Europe.
🇪🇺Si chiude il ciclo di conferenze “Caffè Europa” con l’incontro “Europa e patrimonio culturale”
☕️ Nel corso del suo intervento, la presidente del Consiglio comunale @lindagiovi si è soffermata sull’impegno dell’Amministrazione nella tutela e valorizzazione non solo del… pic.twitter.com/3y5TA61tj8
— Comune di Venezia (@comunevenezia) May 22, 2023
Turning the spotlight on intangible cultural heritage, Ermelinda Damiano recalled the commitment of the city in favour of the inscription of The art of glass beads in the UNESCO List of World Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020 and recalled the efforts currently underway for the inscription of the Art of Lace.
Luisella Pavan-Woolfe highlighted the importance of the Faro Convention in enhancing the commitment of local communities for the protection of their cultural heritage.
The event is part of the broader programme of Festa dell’Europa a Venezia, which the Europe Direct Office of the Municipality of Venice organises annually in collaboration with the Council of Europe’s Office in Italy.
