Brussels, 27/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The Europa Nostra charity, a European wide cultural heritage federation, adopted a declaration at the end of its annual general assembly on 20 July. Its objective is to shed more light on the added value at both an economic and social level, brought by voluntary workers in the cultural arena, as part of the European Year of Volunteering 2011. The “Amsterdam Declaration on Volunteers as added-value for Europe's cultural and natural heritage” stipulates that the European institutions and national, regional and local authorities should: (1) acknowledge the pride of place of voluntary activities in our cultural heritage, as well as its added value at an economic and social level overall; (2) place more value on the status of voluntary workers and recognise their contribution in the cultural and heritage fields; (3) recognise the value of voluntary activities as part of the Active Citizen initiative; (4) ensure that comprehensive studies are carried out into the impact of voluntary activities in the cultural heritage domain; (5) include funding for educating, training and managing voluntary workers and professionals in the cultural sector; (6) draw the public's attention to the importance of voluntary activities in the cultural domain, in an effort to stimulate interest and commitment by citizens in this connection. (I.L./transl.fl)