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Contents
A NEW HERITAGE DEAL FOR EUROPE
CULTURAL HERITAGE: EUROPE’S FUTURE POTENTIAL
SAVING ENDANGERED HERITAGE TOGETHER
THE 7 MOST ENDANGERED PROGRAMME
About the European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is the world’s biggest multilateral lender. The only bank owned by and representing the interests of the EU countries, the EIB finances Europe’s economic growth. Over six decades the Bank has backed start-ups like Skype and massive schemes like the Øresund Bridge linking Sweden and Denmark. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the EIB Group includes the European Investment Fund, a specialist financer of small and medium-sized enterprises.
TOGETHERNESS
A NEW HERITAGE DEALFOR EUROPE
Hermann Parzinger
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the EIB.
BIG IDEAS
Europe’s cultural heritage is a vast, multifaceted mosaic showing who we were, who we are and who we aspire to be. We are all responsible for this huge, precious and fragile legacy.
The coronavirus pandemic revealed that unexpected events can suddenly change our way of life. In the future, other threats could well pose further challenges to our safety, health and environment as well as our social structures, values and ability to compete on the global markets.
How can Europe fulfil its promise if we do not reinvent and redesign the very basis of the European project and come up with innovative and bold solutions for a better and more sustainable future together?
We need a “New Heritage Deal for Europe”, a heritage-led transformation of Europe’s society, economy and environment.
Prof. Dr Hermann Parzinger is an archaeologist, historian and cultural heritage expert. In 2018, he was appointed Executive President of Europa Nostra, a pan-European federation for cultural heritage that represents civil society organisations seeking to safeguard Europe’s cultural and natural heritage. Since 2013, Europa Nostra has been running among its key activities the 7 Most Endangered Programme in partnership with the European Investment Bank Institute.
This is the fifteenth essay in the Big Ideas series created by the European Investment Bank.
The EIB has invited international thought leaders and experts to write about the most important issues of the day. These essays are a reminder that we need new thinking to protect the environment, promote equality and improve people’s lives around the globe.
CHÂTEAU DE VERSAILLES, HALL OF MIRRORS.
EUROPE’S SHARED HERITAGE IS A MIRROR OF OUR SHARED CULTURE AND HISTORY.
TOGETHERNESS
The past is never over.
Our history is not a closed book.
And bygones are not bygones. [1]
Whether we like it or not, we are all intrinsically connected to our past. Europe’s cultural heritage is the direct result of our ancestors’ deeds, efforts and decisions. Past and present generations have built – together – a complex and multilayered Gesamtkunstwerk which we are now responsible for safeguarding and improving. It is time to acknowledge that this shared heritage, this sense of togetherness, is the real foundation on which Europe is built.
Europe’s cultural heritage is a vast, multifaceted mosaic that is both complex and interrelated. It does not belong to a specific time period or a single community or country. It shows us how our lives are connected to a long line of generations coming before and after us. Our cultural heritage holds up a mirror to who we were, who we are and who we aspire to be, and helps us to interpret our past successes and failures. When we dig a little deeper, we quickly discover that all our heritage is, in a real sense, as much local as it is European, and often connected to other cultures around the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic that swept through our planet like a tsunami is a clear reminder that we are not living in isolation. Viruses do not respect borders, political affiliations or nationalities. The pandemic showed us just how fragile our societal fundamentals are. It also made clear to most Europeans that we are far more than just a collection of countries. As the founding fathers and mothers of the European Union knew all too well, our Union is not the beginning of our European story; it is a consequence. Europe is not an abstract, political creation; it is the result of the past and present interconnectedness of everyone living in Europe.
ICONIC HERITAGE SITES LIKE THE ACROPOLIS IN ATHENS REPRESENT THE CULTURAL FOUNDATION OF THE ENTIRE EUROPEAN PROJECT.
We are so much more than a cluster of trade agreements, a military alliance or a research consortium. Europe cannot be defined by decisions on competition rules, consumer protection, privacy or labour laws alone, as vital as they all are. The real Europe is primarily shaped by our connections, as individuals and communities, beyond bias and borders, languages and time. These relationships built the foundation of our Europe as we know it today. For all its grave consequences, the COVID-19 pandemic might also give us an opportunity to rediscover, rethink and reclaim our common ground and purpose.
The way forward to a safe, prosperous, sustainable and inclusive Europe has to be defined despite our national, local and personal differences. We have to focus on what brings us together, not what divides us, and our cultural heritage is what connects this complicated puzzle. If we want Europe to be a beacon of hope and solidarity in a vulnerable world, we have to rediscover and reassert our common ground and our shared foundation – our togetherness.
“ How can Europe fulfil its promise if we do not reinvent the European project together?
The COVID-19 crisis made clear, in an unprecedented way, that unexpected developments can fundamentally change our society in an instant. The future undoubtedly will reveal other threats to our safety, health, climate and environment. Our way of life, our ability to compete on the global market, our social structures and values, including the rule of law, will be challenged. How can Europe fulfil its promise if we do not reinvent and redesign the very basis of the European project and come up with innovative and bold solutions for a better