European culture: a shared responsibility

Otto von der Gablentz of pan-European heritage NGOs federation Europa Nostra explains why Europe's cultural heritage is an indispensable building stone of a sustainable European edifice

More room for culture and education in a stronger and wider Union". This was the main message conveyed to the European Convention by Europa Nostra, together with a number of other European cultural organisations. We all felt a particular sense of urgency that the European Convention should not miss the historic opportunity to make up for one of the most serious deficits in the process of European integration, and thus to contribute to the evolution of a Europe of the Citizens for the 21st century.

Today we have a draft Constitution of the European Union in front of us. We can only rejoice in the fact that its text recognises that the respect of the Union's rich cultural and linguistic diversity, and the safeguard and enhancement of Europe's cultural heritage constitute one of the leading objectives of the Union.

The preamble of the draft Constitution also stresses the important value of Europe's cultural, religious and humanistic heritage as an inspiration and cohesive factor in the process of the building of Europe and of the development of European citizenship. It is essential that the intergovernmental conference endorses the proposed texts and allows their full implementation.

"For people to act as European citizens, they must feel they are such," stressed Gijs de Vries, representative of the Dutch government to the European Convention, in his address to Europa Nostra's 40th Anniversary Congress held on June 18 to 20 in the Palais de l'Europe in Strasbourg.

"They must feel and understand to what extent their identity as Italians, Finns or Slovenes is woven into the wider fabric of European experience, characterised by both similarity and difference, unity as well as diversity," he added while underlining that the work on heritage preservation and heritage education provides a precious contribution to this end.

Working together to protect our cultural heritage is indeed one of the most convincing ways of making citizens realise the full significance of our common culture. Our buildings and cultural landscapes are more than just stones and land.

They are the most accessible, visible and tangible expressions of a shared European culture in its rich diversity. The time has passed when rampant nationalism hijacked the monuments of our common cultural heritage to project its own ideology on periods of history which did not yet know nations and nation states. In the last 50 years, historians and art historians had to re-establish the balance. They now place national history and national heritage in a European context. Unity and diversity have always been the two sides of the same medal: an original and specific European civilisation.

It has been said that the specific genius of our small "Cap d'Asie" as Paul Valéry called it, is its capacity of renewal. The Renaissance, 500 years ago, provides a striking example. At the time, the rediscovery of the common cultural heritage went hand in hand with a dynamic innovation of society. Heritage was not left to historians. It became a source of inspiration and innovation for the future. What can we do today to ensure that future historians can interpret the integration process which far-sighted leaders started half a century ago as a new Renaissance of Europe's vitality?

There were, in 1950, strong and overwhelming reasons to start the process of rebuilding Europe through economic, legal and political reforms. It was in these fields that common action was needed to help reconstruct our lives. European culture, on the contrary, did not have to be reconstructed. It had to be rediscovered. It had to be freed from the bonds of nationalist propaganda. Europeans had to realise that their shared culture and heritage predates and revitalises the amazing cultural diversity which characterises our continent.

The rediscovery of the common European culture and heritage turned out to be one of the binding forces providing legitimacy to the integration process. We saw it very clearly when the wall in Berlin came down. Central and Eastern European states and societies naturally joined the process of integration. Nationalism and cold war were not successful in destroying what had been the result of many centuries of shared culture and historical experience.

But the Union's founding fathers, 50 years ago, also knew that a true Renaissance of Europe required more than economic, legal and even political innovation. European leaders at the Congress of The Hague of May 7 to 10, 1948, conceived a three-pronged strategy for rebuilding Europe: political, economic and social as well as cultural.

We now know, by bitter experience, that a true Europe of the citizens, a true democratic EU, will only grow if Europe is seen to play a pioneering and visible role in the fields of culture and education. No doubt, what has been done by the Council of Europe in over 50 years and by the EU in the last two decades is impressive given the limited means and instruments at their disposal. But it is not enough.

At this junction of European history, the EU as the most dynamic political force in shaping Europe for the 21st century and in determining its place in the modern world shoulders a heavy responsibility for ensuring that Europe remains the area of creative culture and educational excellence it has been throughout its history.

Only an EU with a strong profile in preserving Europe's cultural heritage in all fields will be able to ensure the cohesion of our continent and Europe's place in the modern world. Only such an EU will be able to assert its position in the worldwide dialogue of cultures and to mitigate the levelling influences of economic globalisation on cultural creativity.

At the Strasbourg Congress, this important message was forcefully endorsed by representatives of European civil society mobilised in favour of Europe's cultural heritage. In his message to the Congress, the French Minister of Culture and Communications, M. Jean-Jacques Aillagon also advocated the need for a clear cultural dimension of the European Union, which enhances the awareness of our shared cultural heritage and thus contributes to the dialogue and mutual understanding between communities.

Now that the draft Constitution has taken an important step towards the strengthening of the cultural dimension of the Union, the EU institutions should indeed fully exploit the wider possibilities offered. When currently designing the future EU programmes for cultural co-operation, the Commission should therefore not miss the opportunity to come up with ambitious proposals. It is also indispensable that the future EU cultural programmes are supported by a more ambitious budget allowing the Union to respond better - through action in the fields of culture and education - to the needs and challenges of the on-going enlargement process.

In Strasbourg, Europa Nostra also urged the European decision-makers to promote, in close co-operation with the Council of Europe, the "European cultural space without dividing lines". In the light of the EU-Western Balkans Summit held on June 21 in Thessaloniki, we believe that in its relations with the European countries which are not yet candidates for EU membership the Union should place more emphasis on culture and education. The Union will in this way make an important contribution to the consolidation of the still fragile societies of those countries and to their gradual reintegration in "mainstream Europe".

At the start of the 21st century, the EU has indeed been given a new chance. The complex and burdensome enlargement process is only likely to succeed if it is accompanied by a growing perception by all its citizens of belonging to a common civilisation. One of the intellectual leaders of the Congress of The Hague, the renowned Dutch historian Hendrik Brugmans, provided a road-map:

"L'Europe n'est pas exclusivement un espace économique à administrer. Elle est surtout une civilisation originale à faire revivre par le choc de l'Union."

Otto von der Gablentz is the Executive President of Europa Nostra, the pan-European federation for heritage. He is the former German ambassador to The Netherlands, Israel and the Russian Federation, and the former Rector of the College of Europe.

Europa Nostra aims to influence European policy and raise awareness through campaigns, conferences, publications and by running the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards. Its membership includes heritage NGOs, dedicated individuals and associate members such as regional and local authorities or businesses. Malta is represented on the Council of Europa Nostra by the executive president of Din l-Art Helwa.

www.europanostra.org