REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018
Date: 2019-10-28
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
Subjects: EU initiative, European cultural event, cultural cooperation, cultural heritage, heritage protection, innovation, promotion of the European idea, public awareness campaign

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 28.10.2019  COM(2019) 548 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the implementation, results and overall assessment of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018  
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 

1.1.  Context: Europe’s cultural heritage as a resource for Europe 

The European Union designated 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage (hereafter ‘EYCH 
2018’). 

Europe's  cultural  heritage  "constitutes  a  shared  source  of  remembrance,  understanding, 
identity, dialogue, cohesion and creativity for Europe1". It “encompasses a broad spectrum of 
resources  inherited  from  the  past  in  all  forms  and  aspects  -  tangible,  intangible  and  digital 
(born-digital  and  digitised),  including  monuments,  sites,  landscapes,  skills,  practices, 
knowledge  and  expressions  of  human  creativity,  as  well  as  collections  conserved  and 
managed  by  public  and  private  bodies  such  as  museums,  libraries  and  archives,  and  film 
heritage”2. 

As a  region,  the European Union  accounts  for  more than one third of the  UNESCO  World 
Heritage  List3  and  a  quarter  of  the  UNESCO  Representative  List  of  Intangible  Cultural 
Heritage of Humanity4. So far, 38 sites have received the European Heritage Label5 for the 
role  they  have  played  in  the  European  history.  There  are  33  certified  Council  of  Europe 
Cultural Routes6. Europeana, Europe’s digital platform for cultural heritage, makes accessible 
54 million items from 3 700 European cultural institutions. When it comes to natural heritage, 
- a full part of cultural heritage - , the network of 27 000 protected Natura 2000 sites covers 
18 % of the EU's land and almost 6 % of its marine territory. 

Cultural heritage is also a resource for Europe. Over 300 000 people are employed in the EU 
cultural  heritage  sector  and  7.8  million  EU  jobs  are  indirectly  linked  to  heritage  (e.g. 
interpretation and security). 

The  present  report  provides  an  overview  of  the  implementation  and  results  of  the 
European  Year  of  Cultural  Heritage  2018,  in  line  with  Article  10  of  Decision  (EU) 
2017/864 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 7. 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32017D0864 
ibid 
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/?&delisted=1 
https://ich.unesco.org/en/lists 
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/actions/heritage-label_en 

1  
2  
3  
4  
5  
6   Council of Europe, 2017 
7  
See above, footnote 1 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
1.2.  Objectives of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 

The Decision (EU) 2017/864 of the European Parliament and of the Council on a European 
Year  of  Cultural  Heritage  (2018)8  (hereafter  “EYCH  Decision”)  established  general  and 
specific objectives. 

The overall purpose of the European Year was to encourage the sharing and appreciation of 
Europe's rich and diverse cultural heritage, to raise awareness of our shared history and values 
and to reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space. 

The  general  objectives  of  the  Year  were  to  encourage  and  support  the  efforts  of  the 
Union,  the  Member  States  and  regional  and  local  authorities,  in  cooperation  with  the 
cultural  heritage  sector  and  broader  civil  society,  to  protect,  safeguard,  reuse,  enhance, 
valorise and promote Europe's cultural heritage, and in particular to: 

- 

- 

- 

contribute to promoting the role of Europe's cultural heritage as a pivotal component 
of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue(…);  

enhance  the  contribution  of  Europe's  cultural  heritage  to  society  and  the  economy 
through its direct and indirect economic potential(…);  

contribute  to  promoting  cultural  heritage  as  an  important  element  of  the  relations 
between the Union and third countries9(…). 

1.3.  Eurobarometer survey on cultural heritage 

In order to  prepare the  European Year,  a special  edition  of the Eurobarometer survey10 was 
carried  out  in  late  2017.  It  was  aimed  at  assessing  the  attitudes  and  opinions  of  Europeans 
about cultural heritage. 

The survey demonstrated that Europeans consider: 

- 

cultural heritage is important to them personally (84%), as well as to their community 
(84%), region (87%), country (91%) and the EU as a whole (80%); 

-  public authorities should allocate more resources to cultural heritage (74%), and that 
public authorities including the EU should do the most to protect cultural heritage. 

-they take pride in cultural heritage (82%), and agree it can improve quality of life (71%) 
and a sense of belonging to Europe (70%); 

2.  IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN YEAR OF CULTURL 

HERITAGE2018 

A decentralised approach was adopted to implement the European Year of Cultural Heritage 
2018. 

2.1.  Governance of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 

At national level, the European Year was coordinated by “national coordinators”, representing 
the  participating  countries  -  all  28  Member  States,  as  well  as  nine  associated  countries 
(Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Republic  of  North  Macedonia,  Iceland,  Montenegro, 
Norway, Switzerland, Georgia and Serbia). 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32017D0864 

8  
9   Decision(EU) 2017/864 
10   https://europa.eu/cultural-heritage/toolkits/special-eurobarometer-europeans-and-cultural-heritage_en 

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At  European  level,  the  implementation  of  the  European  Year  was  a  joint  effort  of  the 
European Commission (up to 15 DGs), the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, the 
Committee  of  the  Regions,  and  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee.  The 
Commission ensured the coordination of the European Year at the Union level. 

The  European  Commission  was  assisted  by  a  group  of  38  civil  society  organisations 
(“stakeholders' committee”), selected through an open and transparent process, following an 
open call for participation. UNESCO and the Council of Europe also took part. 

During  2017-2018,  the  Commission  convened  six  meetings  of  the  stakeholders’  committee 
and  of  the  national  coordinators  in  order  to  coordinate  the  running  of  the  European  Year; 
representatives of the European Parliament participated in the meetings as observers. 

2.2.  Resources 

The  European  Year  of  Cultural  Heritage  2018  was  allocated  a  budget  of  8  million  euro,  in 
line with the above-mentioned Decision (EU) 2017/864 for the years 2017-18. A major part of 
the  budget  allowed  the  funding  of  a  dedicated  call  for  cooperation  projects  under  Creative 
Europe (4.8 million euro). In addition, the Commission used this budget to support projects at 
European  level,  such  as  work  with  ICOMOS  on  EU  quality  standards  for  intervention  on 
cultural  heritage11,  the  WeAre#EuropeForCulture  project12,  the  Faro  Way  project  with  the 
Council of Europe13 and the joint EU-UNESCO project on empowering youth for heritage14; a 
communication campaign and a Eurobarometer survey15 (all together 2,8 million  euro). The 
remaining budget covered a number of support and coordination activities. 

3.  KEY ACTIVITIES 

3.1. 

 Communication campaign 

A communication campaign was organised at EU level. The main target audiences included 
schoolchildren (aged 10-15) and young people (aged 15-25).  

The  communication  material  made  available  to  all  EU  Member  states  in  their  respective 
languages included a visual identity along with a logo specifically designed for the European 
Year in all 24 EU languages, a slogan - “Our heritage: where the past meets the future”, a web 
–site16,  printed  and  audio-visual  communication  material  in  all  EU  languages,  as  well  as  a 
toolkit  for  teachers17.  In  addition,  a  bi-monthly  newsletter  was  set  up  reaching  out  to  more 
than 8000 people (top subscribers in Spain, Italy, Belgium, Greece and France). 

The  social  media  campaign  reached  some  18  million  people,  the  majority  of  whom  were 
young  people  (18-24  and  25-34  accounting  for  approximately  31-35%  each).  In  2018,  the 
#EuropeForCulture appeared 146 000 times on social media platforms. 

The European Year of Cultural Heritage also received much attention in the print traditional 
media,  (26,544  media  articles  for  an  aggregated  on-line  readership  of  5.3  million  people). 
ARTE offered an EYCH 2018 playlist in five languages. 

https://www.coe.int/en/web/culture-and-heritage/the-faro-way 

11   http://openarchive.icomos.org/2083/ 
12   https://www.photoconsortium.net/we-are-europeforculture/ 
13  
14   https://en.unesco.org/news/new-network-young-cultural-heritage-professionals-emerges-unescoeu-project 
15  
16   https://europa.eu/cultural-heritage/ 
17   https://europa.eu/learning-corner/ 

http://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data/dataset/S2150_88_1_466_ENG 

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3.2. 

 Events and initiatives at Member State and EU level 

Overall  over  23  000  events  were  organised  in  2018,  reaching  more  than  12.8  million 
participants  (11,7  million  participating  in  events  organised  by  the  Member  States  and 
stakeholders and 1.1 million participating in events organised by EU institutions)18. The 2018 
EYCH label was awarded to over 13,000 events (including 2 300 in Ireland alone). 

Moreover, the third countries associated with  the Year carried out  more than 620 initiatives 
and events, attracting more than 600,000 participants. 

The  38  members  of  the  stakeholders’  committee,  including  UNESCO  and  the  Council  of 
Europe, implemented 475 events and initiatives, involving almost 400,000 participants. One 
of  the  leading  initiatives  was  the  European  Cultural  Heritage  Summit  ‘Sharing  Heritage 
Sharing Values’, which took place in Berlin in June 2018, and culminated in the Berlin call to 
Action ‘Cultural  Heritage for the Future of Europe’, signed by more than 2200 citizens and 
organisations19. 

The  European  Parliament  organised  a  dedicated  high-level  conference  and  an  inter-
parliamentary committee meeting on European cultural heritage. The European Economic and 
Social  Committee  and  the  European  Committee  of  the  Regions  also  organised  several 
dedicated events and communication activities. 

3.3.  EU funded projects and ten European Initiatives 

The  Commission  launched  a  dedicated  call  for  proposals  under  the  Creative  Europe 
programme.  As  a  result,  29  transnational  cooperation  projects  were  selected  out  of  77 
applications, for a total amount of 4.8 million euro20. 

The  regular  2018  Creative  Europe  call  for  cooperation  projects  was  also  open  to  cultural 
heritage. As a result, altogether, 10.3 million euro was granted to 35 cultural heritage projects 
through Creative Europe in 2018, compared to 4.9 million euro for 16 projects in 2016. 

In  addition,  actions  on  cultural  heritage  received  significant  funding  from  several  EU 
programmes, as foreseen by Article 8 of Decision (EU) 2017/864. The European Year was a 
horizontal  priority  of  the  2018  Erasmus  +programme  and  Erasmus+  awarded  close  to  92 
million euro to 965 cooperation and mobility projects dealing with cultural heritage. 

An estimated amount of 6 billion euro was initially made available for cultural heritage in the 
2014-2020  period  under  the  Cohesion  Funds.  Updated  data  on  the  ERDF  investment  in 
cultural heritage actions is given on the cohesion data platform21. In 2018 and 2019, Horizon 
2020 devoted up to 100 million euro to research projects on cultural heritage. EU funding for 
the environment through the LIFE programme, focusing on Natura 2000 sites, also played an 
important  role  during  the  European  Year,  as  did  programmes  on  cultural  tourism22  23  and 
citizenship via the Europe for Citizens programme. 

18   Estimations based on quarterly monitoring reports, including data collected from EU Member States national 

coordinators, from organisations members of the EYCH stakeholders' committee, and information received from EU 
institutions. 

19   http://www.europanostra.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Berlin-Call-Action-Cultural-Heritage-Future-Europe.pdf 
20   The call focused on two themes: reinforcing a sense of belonging to a common European space (12 projects  – 41% of 
total funding) and promoting cultural heritage as a source of inspiration for contemporary artistic creation (17 projects - 
59% of total funding). 

21   https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/stories/s/9gyi-w56p 
22   Programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises 

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/cosme_en 

23   02 02 77 21 Preparation action Transnational culture-related European Tourism Product 

4 

 
 
                                                           
The  Common  Agricultural  Policy  through  its  European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural 
Development (EAFRD) also supported many initiatives related to rural cultural heritage. 

Finally,  in  2018,  the  Commission  continued  its  political  and  funding  support  to  Europeana, 
the pan-European online cultural platform. 

To  complement  these  funding  efforts,  the  Commission  ran  long-term  projects  and  policy 
initiatives  around  ten  themes  (“ten  European  initiatives”).  They  were  implemented  in 
collaboration  with  the  Council  of  Europe,  UNESCO,  and  other  partners  and  stakeholder 
organisations. 

3.4.  Transnational initiatives 

The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 saw the development of numerous cross-border 
European initiatives initiated by stakeholders and national coordinators. 
Examples  include  the  #Ode2JoyChallenge24,  organised  by  Europa  Nostra  (25  countries); 
“Work It Out25” , by the European Route of Industrial Heritage whereby 3 000 young people 
danced  across  Europe  simultaneously  in  10  countries  –  and  “The  Torch  Initiative26,” 
coordinated  by  the  Future  of  Religious  Heritage,  which  gathered  personal  memories  and 
stories of people relating to religious heritage. 

Finally,  two  examples  of  initiatives  led  by  Member  States  that  spread  through  Europe  are 
“Rendez-vous aux Jardins27,” by the French Ministry of Culture (16 countries); as well as the 
“Ringing the Bells28” launched by the German Cultural Heritage Committee (800 bells in 25 
countries rang simultaneously on the International Day of Peace on 21 September 2018). 

3.5.  Global outreach of the European Year 2018 

The European Year  had a global outreach. The Western Balkans countries (Albania, Bosnia 
and Herzegovina, Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), as well as Georgia, 
Iceland, Norway and Switzerland were associated to the Year. 
The European Year also supported capacity building for the heritage sector worldwide29. 

EU Delegations around the world  contributed to raising the international  profile of the Year 
through different activities. 

4.  POLICY OUTCOMES AT EU LEVEL 

In  addition  to  a  series  of  events  across  Europe  and  beyond,  the  European  Year  led  to 
numerous deliverables and policy outcomes. 

24   https://www.europanostra.org/ode-joy-challenge/ 
25   https://www.erih.net/projects/erih-dance-event-work-it-out/ 
26   https://www.frh-europe.org/projects/frh-torch/more-information/ 
27   https://rendezvousauxjardins.culture.gouv.fr/ 
28   https://sharingheritage.de/en/projects/friede-sei-ihr-erst-gelaeute-ringing-the-bells/ 
29  

 - Projects: Supporting the creation of a sustainable network of heritage operators through the 'Western Balkans cultural 
heritage route'; 
 - Building capacities to fight against heritage trafficking, looting and destruction in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen 
through a joint project with UNESCO,  
 - and addressing key development objectives in Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia through the Silk Road Heritage 
Corridors ( financing support of 3.4 million Euro) 
https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/about-silk-road  

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4.1.  Engagement for cultural heritage 

The  European  Year  initiated  a  range  of  initiatives  to  engage  both  younger  and  older 
generations,  professionals,  and  local  communities  with  cultural  heritage  and  its  European 
dimension. The deliverables included: 

-  30  million  people  took  part  in  the  60  000  events  of  the  special  edition  of  the  European 

Heritage Days, which was dedicated to the European Year 30 ; 

-  Europeana  implemented  numerous  outreach  activities  to  support  the  digital  accessibility 

- 

of heritage resources; 
a  special  prize  as  part  of  the  European  Commission  Access  City  Awards  201931,  which 
was  awarded  the  cities  of  Vilborg  (Denmark)  and    Monteverde  (Italy)  for  improving 
accessibility to persons with disabilities; 

-  The  European  Commission's  Joint  Research  Centre  developed  novel  tools  to  foster 
citizens’ engagement in cultural heritage: the online platform ‘Story Maps’32 (interactive 
and  easily  accessible  information  about  EU-led  cultural  heritage  initiatives  in  Europe), 
and  ‘Cultural  gems’33  web  app  (to  share  and  expand  knowledge  on  cultural  venues  in 
European cities); 
“Cultural  Heritage”  was  the  2018  priority  theme  in  eTwinning,  the  community  for 
teachers and schools in Europe. The e-Twinning book "Europe’s cultural heritage through 
eTwinning"34 offered examples of projects and activities; a final  Conference gathered 600 
participants; 
a  Toolkit  and  an  online  game  in  all  EU  languages  supported  teachers  of  any  subject  or 
discipline in bringing cultural heritage into the classrooms35; 

- 

- 

-  15,000 young Europeans discovered Europe's cultural heritage through the pilot initiative 

DiscoverEU; 

-  Young  people  volunteered  for  heritage  related  projects  through  the  European  Solidarity 

Corps. 

4.2. 

Sustainability of cultural heritage 

During  2018,  the  European  Commission  and  partner  organisations  implemented  a  range  of 
actions to integrate  cultural heritage into  environmental, architectural and  planning policies. 
The deliverables included: 

  The Leeuwarden Declaration36 on the adaptive re-use of built heritage; 
  A  catalogue  of  best  practices  in  the  use  of  investments  from  the  European  Regional 
Development  Fund,  including  the  Interreg  programmes,  to  better  protect,  re-use, 
enhance  and promote cultural heritage37; 

  The report38 on the connections between heritage and the Natura 200039 network40; 

30   booklet with 101 event ideas to take part in the European Heritage Days 2018 -  

https://europa.eu/cultural-heritage/toolkits/101-event-ideas-european-heritage-days_en  
31   https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=8208&furtherPubs=yes 
32   http://eu-commission.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=e3e538d4e4b743c8a6bc7a363fbc2310 
33   https://culturalgems.jrc.ec.europa.eu 
34   https://www.etwinning.net/eun-files/Online%20–%20eTwinning%20publication%2024.09.2018.pdf  
35   https://europa.eu/learning-corner/sites/teachers2/files/files/eych-2018-toolkit-teachers_en.pdf  
36   https://europa.eu/cultural-heritage/news/declaration-adaptive-reuse-built-heritage-adopted_en 
37   E-book ‘Connecting Cultures, Connected Citizens’ -  

http://www.interact-eu.net/library/e-book-connecting-cultures-connected-citizens/pageflip 

38   https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/links_natural_cultural_heritage_en.htm 
39   https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/index_en.htm 
40   http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/management/pdf/case_study_natura2000_cultural_heritage.pdf  

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  Policy recommendations41 for sustainable cultural tourism along with a new definition 

of sustainable cultural tourism; 

  18  European  Destinations  of  Excellence42  were  awarded  an  EDEN  prize  for 
developing a specific tourism offer based on their local tangible cultural assets43; 
  The  "World  Heritage  Journeys  in  the  EU"  in  cooperation  with  UNESCO  linking  34 
iconic and lesser-known UNESCO World Heritage sites in 19 European countries44; 
  6 transnational projects with 46 beneficiaries promoted transnational tourism products 

related to European cultural heritage using CCIs-related technologies45;   

  The  “Barcelona  Declaration”46  to  improve  sustainability  and  competitiveness  of  the 

social and cultural impacts of tourism in Europe. 

4.3. 

Protection of cultural heritage 

The EYCH  2018 initiated a large-scale mobilisation to improve the way  cultural heritage  is 
protected at European level. The deliverables included: 

  “European quality principles for EU-funded interventions with potential impact upon 

cultural heritage”, in cooperation with ICOMOS47; 

  Study on Safeguarding Cultural heritage from Natural and Man-Made Disasters - the 
first mapping of strategies and tools at the EU level contributing to the implementation 
of  the  Sendai  Framework  for  Disaster  Risk  Reduction  and  paving  the  way  for 
improved cooperation among Member States48; 

  Research and capacity building projects to improve understanding of disaster risks to 

cultural heritage49 and strengthen preventive measures; 

  Study  on  the  illicit  trade  of  cultural  goods  and  the  use  of  available  technologies  to 
combat it; contributing to a deeper understanding of this criminal activity and how to 
curb it50; 

  A  toolkit  developed  in  cooperation  with  UNESCO  for  European  judiciary  and  law 

enforcement officials on fighting the illicit trafficking of cultural property 51; 

  Assessing the possibility to promote the use of Copernicus, the EU Earth Observation 

Programme, for Cultural Heritage preservation, monitoring and management52; 

  Mobilising the cultural heritage and historic preservation sectors for climate action in 
support  of  the  Paris  Agreement  on  the  Climate  Heritage  Mobilisation.  This  was 

41   Sustainable Cultural Tourism Open Method of Coordination Working Group recommendations. See 
https://europa.eu/cultural-heritage/toolkits/sustainable-cultural-tourism-recommendations_en  

42   https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/eden/about/themes_en#y2017 
43   https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/eden/about/themes_en#y2017  
44   https://visitworldheritage.com/en/eu/ 
45   https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/29223 
46  

Initiated by NECSTouR in cooperation with the European Travel Commission, Europa Nostra, European Cultural 
Tourism Network with the support of European Heritage Alliance 3.3.  
See: http://necstour.eu/news/barcelona-declaration-“better-places-live-better-places-visit”-necstour’s-legacy-2018-
european  

47   http://openarchive.icomos.org/2083/  
48   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/8fe9ea60-4cea-11e8-be1d-01aa75ed71a1/language-

49  

en/format-PDF/source-71040971  
In line with Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk reduction, target C (Estimate Direct Economic Loss), 
https://www.unisdr.org/files/43291_sendaiframeworkfordrren.pdf  

50   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/d79a105a-a6aa-11e9-9d01-01aa75ed71a1/language-

en/format-PDF 

51   https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000266098 
52   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/220f385f-76bd-11e9-9f05-01aa75ed71a1/language-

en?WT.mc_id=Selectedpublications&WT.ria_c=677&WT.ria_f=3988&WT.ria_ev=search  

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organised  for  the  Global  Climate  Action  Summit  2018,  in  cooperation  with 
ICOMOS53. 

4.4. 

Innovation 

The European Year 2018  initiated a large-scale  effort  to  foster the emergence of innovative 
and cutting-edge solutions  to  the challenges of the cultural  heritage sector.  The deliverables 
included: 

  The  publication  ‘Policy  Review:  Innovation  in  Cultural  Heritage  Research’  54,  the 
Cordis Results Pack entitled 'Heritage at Risk: EU research and innovation for a more 
resilient  cultural  heritage'55  and  the  publication  'Innovative  solutions  for  Cultural 
Heritage'56; 

  “Fostering  cooperation  in  the  European  Union  on  skills,  training  and  knowledge 
transfer in cultural heritage professions” - a manual of good practices for cultural and 
education institutions57; 

  The preparation of the new edition of the ‘Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor’58, a 
benchmarking  tool  to  monitor  the  performance  of  ‘Cultural  and  Creative  Cities’  in 
Europe; 

  The joint EU-Council of Europe pilot project ‘STEPS’59, aiming at examining viable 

models for participatory governance;  

  The  Joint  EU-Council  of  Europe  project  “The  Faro  Way”:  enhanced  participation  in 

cultural heritage60. 

  The report of the EU expert group on participatory governance of cultural heritage61. 

5.  FOLLOW UP - THE EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION ON 

CULTURAL HERITAGE 

In  order  to  secure  the  long-term  policy  impact  of  the  European  Year  ,  the  European 
Commission published on 5 December 2018  a European Framework for Action on Cultural 
Heritage62  (SWD  (2018)  491),  which  sets  out  a  common  direction  for  heritage-related 
activities at European level, primarily in EU policies and programmes.  

The Framework for Action is organised around four principles, five pillars, and 65 actions. 

The four principles of the European Framework for Action on Cultural heritage are a people-
centred approach, mainstreaming across different EU policies, evidence-based policy-making 
and a multi-stakeholder cooperation. 

The five areas of action are as follows: 

53   https://www.globalclimateactionsummit.org/events/cultural-heritage-network-2/ 
54   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1dd62bd1-2216-11e8-ac73-01aa75ed71a1  
55   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1dcbe60b-79ba-11e8-ac6a-01aa75ed71a1/  
56   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/2a7477b0-e988-11e8-b690-01aa75ed71a1/language-en  
57   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/e38e8bb3-867b-11e9-9f05-01aa75ed71a1/language-

en/format-PDF/source-98656174  

58   https://composite-indicators.jrc.ec.europa.eu/cultural-creative-cities-monitor/ 
59   https://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/cultural-heritage-and-diversity 
60   https://www.coe.int/en/web/culture-and-heritage/-/new-joint-project-the-faro-way-enhanced-participation-in-cultural-

heritage-  

61   https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b8837a15-437c-11e8-a9f4-01aa75ed71a1/language-en  
62 
https://ec.europa.eu/culture/sites/culture/files/library/documents/staff-working-document-european-agenda-culture-
2018.pdf 

8 

 
 
 
                                                           
-  Cultural heritage for an inclusive Europe: participation and access for all 
-  Cultural  heritage  for  a  sustainable  Europe:  smart  solutions  for  a  cohesive  and 

sustainable future 

-  Cultural heritage for a resilient Europe: safeguarding endangered heritage 
-  Cultural heritage for an innovative Europe: mobilising knowledge and research 
-  Cultural  heritage 
cooperation. 

for  stronger  global  partnerships: 

reinforcing 

international 

The  Framework  also  establishes  a  new  Commission’s  multi-stakeholder  expert  group  on 
Cultural  Heritage63,  which  will  act  as  a  platform  for  consultation  and  exchange  of  best 
practice for sustainable and participatory cultural heritage policies in Europe. 

6. OVERALL ASSESSMENT 

The  European  Year  was  successful  in  strengthening  the  European  dimension  of  cultural 
heritage. 

In  a  Declaration  adopted  in  Bucharest  on  16  April  2019,  the  EU  Ministers  of  Culture 
recognised64 that “the success of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 was based on 
an  appropriate  multi-stakeholder  governance  framework,  a  clear  thematic  focus,  the 
engagement of different parts of our societies and cross-border cooperation”65. 

They  welcomed  the  European  Framework  for  Action  on  Cultural  Heritage  and  expressed 
support  for  further  EU  action  in  the  field,  along  the  lines  expressed  in  the  Framework  for 
Action. 

The European Parliament was very supportive of the European Year and of further actions at 
EU level in favour of heritage. While discussing the results of the Year in the Cultural Affairs 
Committee,  its  members  recognised  it  to  be  one  of  the  significant  successes  of  this 
Commission  in  terms  of  both  political  initiatives  and  implementation.  They  praised  the 
integrated  management  model,  the  multi-stakeholder  cooperation  spirit,  and  called  for  an 
ambitious follow-up66. 

7.  CONCLUSION 

The  European  Year  of  Cultural  Heritage  has  had  a  positive  impact  on  the  perception  of 
Europe’s cultural heritage as a powerful resource for Europe. Through highlighting Europe’s 
cultural  heritage  on  EU  and  national  agendas  and  a  broad  mobilisation  of  actors,  the  Year 
contributed to an inter-cultural conversation about what Europe has in common. 

Based on the results  of the European  Year of Cultural  Heritage  and taking into  account  the 
principles  identified  in  the  European  Framework  for  Action,  the  Commission  together  with 
the  Member  States  and  cultural  heritage  stakeholders  will  continue  implementing  a  longer-
term vision for the management, safeguarding and enhancement of Europe’s cultural heritage. 

63   https://ec.europa.eu/culture/news/call-applications-cultural-heritage-forum_en  
64   https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39209/190416-bucharest-declaration-on-the-role-of-culture-in-building-

europes-future.pdf 

65   https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39209/190416-bucharest-declaration-on-the-role-of-culture-in-building-

europes-future.pdf  

66   CULT committee meeting on 2 April 2019, http://europarl.europa.eu/elive/en/committees/video?event=20190402-0900-

COMMITTEE-CULT 

9