A summary of the top news stories from our colleagues in the EHA.
Laptops for Ukraine initiative extended to help museums and libraries safeguard cultural heritage [European Commission / Europeana Foundation]
Laptops for Ukraine is an initiative by the European Commission, the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation and Digital Europe, a European organisation representing the digital technology industry. It aims to collect and deliver laptops, smartphones and tablets for schools, hospitals and public administrations in Ukraine’s most affected war regions.
On 15 June, the European Commission announced the expansion of the Laptops for Ukraine initiative in order to help cultural heritage institutions in Ukraine. There is a pressing need for equipment, such as laptops, 3D scanners and data storage devises in order to be able to scan and digitally document Ukraine’s cultural heritage. The aim is to be able to trace destroyed, lost and stolen cultural heritage objects, to restore and bring them back to life, preserve and make them available online to everybody. The Europeana Foundation supports the initiative by reaching out to its stakeholders.
Organisations interested in donating equipment to Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions, such as libraries and museums, are requested to contact by email the European Commission’s Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT), unit responsible for digital cultural heritage: CNECT-CULTURAL-HERITAGE@ec.europa.eu. More information here:
Call for nominations: 7 Most Endangered Program 2024 [Europa Nostra / European Investment Bank / Creative Europe, EU funding]
If you know of important heritage in Europe that is endangered, nominate it for the 7 Most Endangered program 2024 and join Europa Nostra in its efforts to save our heritage! Both tangible and intangible heritage are eligible for the programme, regardless of whether it is publicly or privately owned.
Launched in 2013, the 7 Most Endangered Program forms part of a civil society campaign to save Europe’s endangered heritage. In most cases, the listing of an endangered site serves as a catalyst and incentive for the mobilisation of necessary public or private support, including funding.
The listed sites are also eligible for an EIB Heritage Grant of €10,000 per selected site to assist in implementing an agreed activity that will contribute to saving the threatened sites.
The 7 Most Endangered Program is run by Europa Nostra in partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Institute. It also has the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union as part of Europa Nostra’s network project “European Cultural Heritage Agora”.
All info can be found here:
https://www.europanostra.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7ME2024-Call-for-Nominations.pdf
Capacity-building programme for the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Italy [UNESCO]
In the year that marks the 20th anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Culture of Italy and UNESCO are pleased to announce the launch of the capacity-building course on the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Italy. The course, which is part of UNESCO’s global capacity-building programme for the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage, is primarily aimed at communities involved with the Italian elements inscribed on the UNESCO Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices, staff from relevant institutions, civil society organisations, researchers, and other practitioners in the field of living heritage. The course is organised by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe in close cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture of Italy.
Survey on digital preservation practices in European cultural heritage institutions by the Climate Action Community of the Europeana Network Association
If you are a digital professional working in a cultural heritage institution, or part of a heritage institution IT team, or involved in any way in the digital preservation or management of digital content in your organisation we need your help.
The Environmental Sustainability Practice Task Force of the Europeana Network Association Climate Action Community has launched a survey to evaluate the sustainability of digital preservation practices in European cultural heritage institutions, with a view to finding ways to mitigate our sector’s environmental impact. The survey is accessible here:
https://survey.zohopublic.eu/zs/RuDHuy
If you feel that you and your institution can contribute to this effort please respond to this survey by Wednesday, 13 September 2023 and share your ideas, experience and challenges. Your feedback is essential to inform the work of the Climate Action Community, including awareness-raising and advocacy actions for climate-conscious working practices in the digital cultural heritage sector, to minimise our environmental impact.
Be part of the New European Bauhaus Festival 2024! [European Commission]
In April 2024, the European Commission will organise the second edition of the New European Bauhaus Festival – and we invite you to be part of it! On the theme of ‘Resources for all’, the 2024 edition of the hybrid event will bring together people from all across Europe and the world to debate how we can shape a sustainable, inclusive and beautiful future.
The New European Bauhaus Festival encompasses four key pillars: The Forum provides a platform for engaging discussions and the exchange of ideas surrounding the New European Bauhaus; The Fair provides a space for local communities, regional/national actors, EU-wide organisations and project representatives to showcase their initiatives; The Fest provides a space for cultural representatives, actors, artists, citizen associations and others, to contribute to the creation of a cultural programme including performances and art works; Satellite events are organised independently in Brussels and beyond, with core activities in line with the New European Bauhaus values.
Interested organisations and individuals can propose their own activities, projects or satellite events to one of the three calls to become a spotlight feature of The Festival. A fourth call is for media partners.
You can apply until 15 September.
Read all about it here:
https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/get-involved/festival_en
To cite this article: IE News Team (2023) ‘European Heritage Alliance roundup‘ in Interpret Europe Newsletter 2-2023, pg. 27-29.
Available online: https://interpret-europe.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Newsletter-2023_2-summer.pdf
