Civil society action in the field of heritage in Europe: strengths and weaknesses (Annick Schramme)

Civil Society action in the field of heritage in Europe:

strenghts and weaknesses

Prof. dr. Annick Schramme

• 19 th century: space between state and family (Hegel)

• 20 th century: space between state, market and family

What is civil society?

• Kaldor (2003) ‘The process through which individuals negotiate, argue, struggle against or agree with each other and with the centres of political and economical authority. Through voluntary associations, movements, parties, unions, the individual is able to act publicly’.

What is civil society?

• The civil society, state and market are not seperated fields, but are overlapping each other (Iris Marion Young, 2000)

• activities are processes coordinated on different manners

The autonomy of civil society

• more than a passive transfer point

• Civil society mediates

• functions: service providing, education and awareness rising, promotion of interest/advocate (Huyse, 2001)

Functions of civil society

• a new international playing field for civil society

• more need to provide feedback to citizens

• multilevel governance model

Civil society and globalisation

• What are the underlying assumptions behind the conjunction European cultural heritage

• It often serves a purpose, a political programme

Cultural heritage and Europe

• Heritage is a cultural and political concept inseparable from the history of the nation state and the emerge of ‘national cultures’.

• Gellner: cultural identification is crucial to the nation building process

Cultural heritage and Europe

Cultural heritageand Europe

• The idea of a ‘Common European cultural heritage’ after World War II

• context of cooperation and peacekeeping

• European identity as an important condition of economic and political integration

• A widespread apathy to the European project and the notorious ‘democratic deficit’ ---> Declaration concerning European Identity in 1973

• 1983: Solemn declaration of EU extented EC cooperation to culture: ‘in order to affirm the awareness of a common cultural heritage as an element in de European identity’.

Cultural Heritage and European Identity

The EU Maastricht Treaty (1992, article 128)

• §1.‘The community shall contribute to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States, while respecting their national and regional diversity and at the same time bringing the common cultural heritage to the fore’

• Unity or diversity?

Council of Europe

• Since foundation in 1949 an interest in the cultural dimension of Europe.

• 1999: campaign: ‘Europe: a Common Heritage’

• Council of Europe related cultural Heritage with democracy and democratic values

• Benjamin Barber, 2003 and Carole Rosenstein, 2006

• Framework Convention of the Council of Europe on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society

• new concept of ‘heritage community’

• new opportunities

Faro Convention (CoE, 2005)

• ‘ a group of resources inherited from the past which peaple identify, independly of ownership, as a reflection and expression of their constantly evolving values, beliefs, knowledge and traditions. It includes all aspects of the environment resulting from interaction between people and places through time.’

Definition of heritage communities

• bounding factor is not political but cultural• imagined communities become intentional

communities• purpose: to create cross-border communities• heritage as a whole• fits with the political agenda of intercultural

dialogue

Faro Convention (CoE, 2005)

• 17 october 2003: Unesco Convention for the safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

• 20 october 2005: Unesco Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions

Unesco and cultural heritage

• articles 2.1, 11, 12, 13 and 15 of the Unesco Convention Intangible Cultural Heritage

• articles 11 and 12 of the Faro Convention

--> broadest possible participation of groups, communities and individuals

Civil society action andcultural heritage in Europe

Civil society action and cultural heritage in Europe

• Structured dialogue in cultural policy still in their infancy

• subsidiarity principle

• some programmes, like Culture 2007-2013

• no issue for the European Parliament

• negative impact of the European legislation on the heritage sector

Weaknesses of the civil society action in cultural heritage

• Focus on local cultural heritage

• lack of global thinking

• less organised then the Arts Sector

• fragmentation

• tension between tangible and intangible heritage

A few networks

• Europa Nostra (1963)• EFAH (1992) became ‘Culture Action

Europe’(2008)• The European Heritage Network (CoE, 1999)• Observatory for EU legislation (2006)• Inventory of Heritage Organisations (>2008)

• The treaty of Lisbon, article 11 (art. 4, EC): will recognise dialogue with civil society as a fundamental principle of European Unions Governance.

• 2007: Agenda for Culture: three domains– cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue– creativity– culture as a part of an European foreign policy

Europe and the civil society dialogue

• mobilisation of a large variety of actors (including ‘the hard to reach’)

• a dynamic exchange of information and dialogue within the sector

• the development of a specific expertise about the actors

• knowledge of the needs of the field

‘Civil society: making it work better’ (2006)

• a real form of dialogue between stakeholders and policy makers:– end goal: better public policy making – not to legitimize decisions already taken

• openness, transparency and the commitment to engage with the sector at all stages of the policy process

• open method of coordination

‘Civil society: making it work better’ (2006)

• Cultural heritage is flourishing

• broader concept of heritage

• new approach of the Faro Convention (2005) that leads cultural heritage organizations to work in highly diverse, cross-sectoral ways

Conclusions

• a real opportunity to participate more actively

• make sure that all actors of the European heritage sector have the opportunity to take part in European debates

• It has to happen all across Europe, not only in ‘Brussels’

Recommendations

Thank you for your attention!