Cultural heritage strengthens Europe - Berlin Appeal of the European Cultural Heritage Summit
Press release from 06/22/2018
The importance of cultural heritage for the future of Europe is to be strengthened. To this end, the organisers of the European Cultural Heritage Summit formulated the "Berlin Call to Action" and presented it today in Berlin after the topic was discussed in high-profile panels. Renowned public and private cultural heritage stakeholders from all over Europe took part in the summit, as did political decision-makers such as Tibor Navracsics, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Karl-Heinz Lambertz, President of the European Committee of the Regions, Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social Committee and Françoise Nyssen, French Minister of Culture.
The Berlin Appeal is a key contribution to the "New European Agenda for Culture" and the "Action Plan for Cultural Heritage", which are currently being prepared by the European Commission. It calls for the potential of Europe's rich and diverse cultural heritage to be better utilised. In order to promote a strong sense of European togetherness, the European project should in future be based on more than economic, financial and security policy.
In view of the new legislative period of the European Parliament and the European Commission starting in 2019, the identity-forming potential of cultural heritage should be incorporated into the political discourse to a greater extent than before. The aim is to jointly implement a concrete action plan to promote cultural heritage and its communication, especially to young people, as well as to strengthen networking and pool knowledge and expertise on cultural heritage at state and civil society level.
Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, said: "The European Year of Cultural Heritage aims to put culture and cultural heritage at the centre of our daily lives, to make our cultural heritage accessible to all so that everyone can discover it. This gives us the momentum we need to ensure that culture and heritage continue to receive the political attention and funding they deserve. Just last month, I presented my proposal for a new European Agenda for Culture. The aim: to maximise the power of culture for economic growth and social development. Of course, great ambitions need sufficient funding. I am very proud that the European Commission has proposed to strengthen the EU programme for the cultural and creative sectors "Creative Europe" in the post-2020 financial period, increasing the budget for this to 1.85 billion euros, and I am counting on strong support from Germany for this proposal in the upcoming negotiations."
Martina Münch, Minister of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg and President of the German National Committee for Monument Protection (DNK) said: "The common cultural heritage in its impressive diversity illustrates connecting lines in Europe across borders and across centuries. The preservation and communication of cultural heritage is an important basis for placing European integration on a broader footing and thus giving new impetus to the European idea. The Berlin Appeal identifies specific fields of action: Cultural heritage should - especially against the backdrop of the reorientation of EU cultural policy - be increasingly recognised as a special wealth whose potential in the areas of economy, culture, environment and education is far from exhausted. In addition, a permanent European cultural heritage platform is to be created in future so that the networking of institutions, ideas and projects can be further promoted beyond the 2018 Cultural Heritage Year."
Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) and Executive President of Europa Nostra, explained: "We want to focus more strongly than before on the European dimension of our cultural heritage. After all, Europe is not just a community of convenience. I am firmly convinced that our cultural heritage can make a decisive contribution when it comes to strengthening our self-image as Europeans. Many of our buildings, monuments, works of art, everyday objects and much more tell a European story and show us our common roots. The Cultural Heritage Summit has made it clear that the European institutions, including the EU Commission, have recognised the strategic importance of culture for the further development of Europe and it is encouraging that they want to underline this with the proposal for the new financial framework. It is an investment in the future of Europe!"
The most important day of the Cultural Heritage Summit will conclude with the presentation of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/ Europa Nostra Award in the presence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. EU Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and Plácido Domingo, President of Europa Nostra, will announce the seven 2018 Grand Prix winners. The official press release will be available from 21:00 on Europa Nostra's website: www.europanostra.org/2018-grand-prix-winners-announced
The European Cultural Heritage Summit under the motto "Sharing Heritage - Sharing Values" is Europe's largest event in the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 with more than 60 public and specialist events. The Summit - supported by the European Commission, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe - is organised under the leadership of the German National Committee for Monument Protection (DNK), the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) and Europa Nostra.
The "Berlin Call to Action" can be downloaded here.
More information: