The European Heritage Hub, a pilot project funded by the European Union to strengthen the engagement of citizens with Europe’s cultural heritage and led by Europa Nostra was launched on 10 May in Brussels marking the start of one of the largest cultural heritage-driven projects across Europe to support the green, social and digital transformation of our society.
The European Heritage Hub will be a knowledge-sharing, networking, training and capacity-building as well as advocacy platform for cultural heritage stakeholders, at European, national and regional levels. It will particularly focus on attracting the younger generation of heritage professionals, following the European Year of Youth 2022. The hub will also drive policy analysis, development and advocacy build connections with existing EU-level initiatives, and generate communication and awareness-raising campaigns on safeguarding cultural heritage.
This pilot project will run for an initial two-year period, from May 2023 to April 2025 with a budget of €3,2 million, of which 90% is funded by the EU. During the kick-off meeting the European Commission confirmed they will contribute an additional sum of cc. €1 million to ensure that the Hub’s activities are duly involving partners from Ukraine, the Western Balkans and from the three countries of the Caucasus.
Europa Nostra will take the role of the project leader, working closely with the co-beneficiaries of the project, Europeana Foundation, Eurocities, KU Leuven (via HERKUL) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability; as well as the Society of Friends of Kraków History and Heritage, ELLINIKI ETAIRIA – Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage, Cinquantenaire 2030, Centro Nacional de Cultura, Hispania Nostra and the European Music Centre.
Several associated partners will support the European Heritage Hub, namely the Organisation of World Heritage Cities, the cities of Kraków, Athens, and Lisbon, the Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and SUMUS. Other partners supporting the project are the European Students’ Association for Cultural Heritage and the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO).
“The new hub will provide a platform for exchange of expertise and awareness-raising. It will contribute to the reflection collectively started during the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage – the wish to streamline cultural heritage across policies and to promote its management and preservation,” stated Georg Haeusler, Director for Culture, Creativity and Sport in the European Commission (DG EAC).
The Institute supports the EIB Group’s activities in the field of cultural heritage, facilitates the transfer of know-how and experience between different partners and countries to safeguard European cultural heritage and serves as a gateway between the world of cultural heritage and the EIB Group.
