First meeting of the new project ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe’ held in Brussels

On 3-4 July, the European project ‘Cultural Heritage and the EU 2020 Strategy: towards an integrated approach’ held its first Steering Committee meeting in Brussels. This project will gather, analyse, consolidate and widely disseminate the existing data on the impact of cultural heritage on society and the economy. It will result in a European mapping of the evidence-based research that has already been carried out at European, national, regional, local and/or sectoral levels. Furthermore, the project aims to raise greater awareness on the multiple benefits of cultural heritage and present policy recommendations for tapping into heritage’s full potential.

This first official gathering in Brussels brought together 13 representatives from the project’s six partner institutions to discuss project coordination issues, research methodology, data gathering and analysis, and communication matters. Representatives from the European Commission, DG Education and Culture, Unit Culture Policy and Intercultural Dialogue and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency were also invited to learn more about the project and its objectives.

A launch event for the ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe’ project will be held on 5 December 2013 in Brussels in the framework of the European Policy Conference on Cultural Heritage to be organised by Europa Nostra on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. This will be an occasion for policy makers, civil society organisations, academics, researchers, heritage professionals and stakeholders, local, regional and national authorities, and representatives of European and international institutions to gather in support for heritage in Europe, to advocate the need for the development of a true EU strategy for cultural heritage and to learn more about the ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe’ project.

The project is led by Europa Nostra in partnership with 5 other organisations, ENCATC (the leading European network on arts and cultural management and policy education), Heritage Europe-EAHTR (European Association of Historic Towns and Regions, UK), the International Cultural Centre (Krakow, Poland), the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation (KU Leuven, Belgium), and the Heritage Alliance (as associate partner from England, UK). Through the extensive networks of these partners, the project will mobilise participation from all over Europe and thereby take on a truly pan-European scope.

Selected in February 2013, this project is made possible with the support of the Culture Programme of the European Union. The project is one of four to receive a grant in the framework of the Culture Programme (2007-2013) / Budgetary year 2013 under Strand 3.2 – Cooperation projects between organisations involved in cultural policy analysis. The project will run from July 2013 to August 2015 when it will conclude with a final conference in Brussels to present the project’s findings.

For more information on Strand 3.2 Cooperation projects between organisations involved in cultural policy analysis and selected project descriptions including ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe: towards an European Index for Cultural Heritage’ click here.