European Year of Cultural Heritage: 29 projects receive €5 million

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 23 mei 2018.

A total budget of €5 million will be allocated to the projects under the Creative Europe programme, the main EU i programme supporting cultural and creative sectors.

Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics i, said: “These transnational projects will showcase and promote cultural heritage in all its different forms. They will be a source of inspiration for contemporary artistic creation and help to build bridges between people from all backgrounds. In the spirit of the European Year of Cultural Heritage these inspiring projects will help reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space.

In line with the slogan of the European Year of Cultural Heritage - “Our heritage, where the past meets the future” - the29 projects selected out of 77 applications cover a broad range of innovative collaborations between organisations from different Member States. These organisations come from at least three different countries taking part in the Creative Europe programme and show that celebrating our cultural heritage can go hand in hand with producing contemporary creations,

The projects chosen vary, from the production of folk costumes from different regions using traditional skills, to the exploration of the Baroque era through music. Some are long-term educational projects designed to help people learn about monuments and archaeological sites. One project will highlight European food heritage through multimedia artwork. In addition to the relevance and quality of the projects, another important selection criterion was the potential of a project to maximise the impact by ensuring it reaches as far as possible, locally, nationally and at the European level, to ensure that citizens from all over Europe can be part of the experience.

Background

Creative Europe is the EU programme that supports the cultural and creative sectors. With a budget of €1.46 billion for 2014-2020, it supports organisations in the fields of cultural heritage, performing arts, fine arts, interdisciplinary arts, publishing, film, TV, music, and video games as well as tens of thousands of artists, cultural and audio-visual professionals. The funding allows them to operate across Europe, to reach new audiences and to develop the skills required in the digital age. The Commission will on 30 May propose the new programme for the 2021-2027 financial period. On 2 May, the Commission proposed to set up the future Creative Europe programme with a budget of EUR 1.85 billion

Three specific actions under the Creative Europe Programme are dedicated to cultural heritage: the European Heritage Days, the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage and the European Heritage Label. In addition, European cultural heritage benefits from a wide range of EU policies and funding from other programmes.

The EU decided to designate 2018 as the European Year of Cultural Heritage because of its symbolic and political importance. The purpose of the European Year is to raise awareness of Europe's common history and values, and to strengthen a European identity. Thousands of initiatives and events across Europe will provide the possibility to involve citizens from all backgrounds. The aim is to reach out to the widest possible audience, in particular children and young people, local communities and people from all backgrounds.

More information

Press release on the European Year of Cultural Heritage

Q&As

Website of the EYCH2018 campaign (including a list of events at EU and national levels)

Special Eurobarometer report on Cultural Heritage and country fiches

Spotlight publication

Factsheet "culture as a driver for EU unity" - The Commission's Contribution to the Leaders' Working Lunch Gothenburg, 17 November 2017

Decision (EU) 2017/864 on a European Year of Cultural Heritage

IP/18/3901

 

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