The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 event, the only annual thematic event organised under the Presidency of Jean-Claude Juncker, is underway. The go-ahead was given on Thursday 7 December during the European Culture Forum, which brought together almost 800 participants in Milan (Italy).
The European Year of Cultural Heritage aims to raise awareness among European citizens about the economic and social importance of this heritage. It is intended to focus on the richness of European cultural heritage by highlighting its role in the development of a feeling of common identity and in the construction of Europe's future.
In a press release during the launch of the initiative, the Commission pointed out that thousands of initiatives and events would be organised throughout the year across Europe. As part of a flagship event, the Commission will be organising the
'Assises du patrimoine' work on a long-term EU action plan in support of cultural heritage.
The European Year of Cultural Heritage was the subject of a draft decision on 30 August 2016 and was adopted by the Parliament and Council on 17 May 2017. The final decision will be made on the basis of a €8 million budget. This figure will mainly be used to fund transnational projects through a call for targeted proposals. As part of the Creative Europe initiative, this call for the proposals will help to finance up to 25 cross-border projects and will draw on the support of the European Year events' objectives. The decision text can be consulted at the following page: http://bit.ly/2nEKrCY . (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)