Europe’s cultural heritage is what defines it

You have to scan the vistas of the past if you are searching for a future, wrote French poet Alfred de Vigny. It sounds like a paradox, but yesterday indeed informs our future. We cannot live a better present or future without learning the lessons of time. That will be manifest in 2018 during a range of symposia and celebrations marking the European Year of Cultural Heritage. At the core of our identity as Europeans, the region’s rich heritage is a not only a symbol of the culture we represent, but also who we are.

But it is hard to define the “Homo Europaeus” of today. Multiple selves operate in the diversity and complexity of social, economic and cultural contexts of our societies. Europeans are, in turn, dissonant, consonant and indifferent. Everyday life might be surrounded by and imbedded in stone and fragments of culture, yet residents remain dynamic, living in the modern world as they continue to build upon their history. European identity is infinitely constructible and de-constructible.

“The term Homo Europaeus is the embodiment of the European sense of belonging and the values underpinning European integration: cooperation, cultural diversity, peace, mutual respect and intercultural dialogue,” says Nathalie Vandystadt, spokesperson at the European Commission for Culture. “History and remembrance as well play a key role in the European identity, but also and foremost, it is a common vision for the future.”

Mahatama Gandhi once said: “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” That’s when we feel real pride, understanding what it means to truly embrace European values.

Thousands of events are planned across the continent for the European Year of Cultural Heritage. Vandystadt says the range of activities 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 who are rarely in touch with culture, to promote a common sense of ownership,” she says. “The purpose is to raise awareness of the social and economic importance of cultural heritage,” she says.

Dario Franceschini, Italian minister of Cultural Heritage, says it has tangible power to truly impact people’s well-being. “Culture must become the pillar

Cultural heritage has great potential to drive economic development in job creation, increase the attractiveness of cities and regions.

of European policies to grow the economy, build the spirit of European citizenship and defeat populism,” he says.

Vandystadt, too, sees the real-world impact. “Cultural heritage has great potential to drive economic development in job creation, increase the attractiveness of cities and regions and support other economic activities like tourism, and the cultural and creative industries,” she says, pointing that more than 300,000 people are directly employed in the EU cultural heritage sector with some 7.8 million jobs indirectly linked in tourism and security. Italian cultural heritage alone generates €260 billion to the economy annually.

“This means that for each direct job, the heritage sector produces 26.7 indirect jobs, compared to 6.3 indirect jobs created for each direct job in the car industry, for instance,” she says. “And ecosystem services — climate change mitigation, water purification, tourism and recreational benefits — provided by the EU’s natural heritage sites are estimated to be worth around €200 to €300 billion each year.”

According to the latest edition of Eurobarometer, a survey released by the EU Commission, 84 per cent of Europeans feel that cultural heritage is important to them personally and 90 per cent believe that it is important to their country.

In addition, 71 per cent of Europeans believe that living near places of importance to Europe’s cultural heritage can improve their quality of life. They are also proud that European society is diverse, with “87 per cent of respondents in Luxemburg, 86 per cent in Cyprus and Portugal, and 85 per cent in Malta, Ireland and Greece thinking that cultural heritage is important for the European Union”, she says.

With its 453 inscribed sites, Europe as a region has almost half of Unesco’s World Heritage list. It accounts for a quarter of Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage with 89 inscribed elements, while 31 certified cultural routes cross 50 countries in Europe and beyond.

This is our legacy.