We find ourselves in a moment of fragmentation and division in Europe that can be hard to reconcile with aspirations for valorising a shared European heritage. In this situation, how, as stated in the recent Berlin Call to Action, should heritage be at the “centre of the policies and priorities”?
Protecting and enhancing heritage has been recognised as priorities of the European Union (art. 3.3). What policy approaches we would like to see developing today at European level and how they should figure in future programmes?
JOIN US AT DE MARKTEN CULTURAL CENTRE FOR A DAY OF RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION
Who should attend?
Professionals from cultural centres and organisations interested in working with and on heritage.
Why participate?
To contribute to current programming at European Union Level.
To define common ground between cultural practitioners (arts and heritage) and policy makers.
Research Overview
Europe is polarised and/or hyper-segmented with new sources of information/self-education, such as online collaborative platforms. Heritage is used often to justify nationalism and withdrawal but also to create a common identity for Europeans. European Heritage Days, European Heritage Label, Europa Nostra Prizes and the European Year of Cultural Heritage are tools used by the EU to project an image of a common Europe rooted in a shared history.
Cultural and heritage researchers have critiqued these narratives in favour of more nuanced image of Europe that accounts for conflicts and tensions (religious, political, social etc.) and seeks to understand the different uses of heritage, for example not just by heritage authorities but also by political actors and publics. CoHERE has involved the study of instances where official European heritage narratives have little purchase, or where other narratives emerge that can prompt alternative – even divisive – understandings of heritage.
Format
A one-day meeting (9 am - 6pm) in the “fish bowl” format, with stakeholders discussing the four topics and the audience providing input and taking part in the discussion through joining the table. This format will allow participants to get involved. A core of four discussants will moderate the discussion and ensure that the topic is well covered and that audience participants are meaningfully involved. The core discussants will change with each topic.
Topics
- How can/ should European heritage policy respond to contests over the past, and political uses of the past?
- How can/ should European heritage policy respond to anti-EU sentiment and the fragmentation of the EU?
- Are there 'right' and 'wrong' uses of heritage? What are they, and what, if anything, should be done in the policy context?
- Are the channels of communication and transmission of ideas between policy, institutions and audiences fit for purpose? What alternatives might there be? Is heritage policy just talking to itself? Is there too much policy? An unhelpful superabundance?
Additional sources – European Agenda for Culture, Berlin Call Europa Nostra, European Alliance for Arts and Culture, Culture Action Europe, EC Proposal for Creative Europe
