On 31 May 2018 (09:30-10:45) in Brussels, Francisco de Paula Coelho, Dean of the Institute, will be one of the speakers at a roundtable on “United in Diversity: Strengthening European Identity through our Shared Cultural Heritage” during the European Foundation Centre Annual General Assembly and Conference Philanthropy Week (29-31 May).

To celebrate 2018 as European Year of Cultural Heritage, the theme of the conference is “Culture matters: connecting citizens & uniting communities”. The session is organised by Europa Nostra in cooperation with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Cariplo Foundation. This session aims to promote the opportunity offered by the European Year of Cultural Heritage to use Europe’s cultural heritage as a key vehicle for reinforcing European identity and unity based on shared cultural treasures, values and memories.

Other confirmed speakers are Sneska Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, Silvia Costa (IT), MEP and former Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education and Guilherme d’Oliveira Martins (PT), Administrator of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and National Coordinator for the European Year of Cultural Heritage in Portugal.