On the 9th of May 2020, in occasion of Europe Day celebrations, Regione Piemonte - FINCH Project Coordinator on behalf of all partnership - joined the webinar "Cultural Heritage as a catalyst for the future of Europe", co-hosted by Europeana and Europa Nostra acting on behalf of the European Heritage Alliance.
FINCH - that announced its partecipation and shared the opportunity to join-in through its Facebook and Twitter channels - enjoyed a passionate interesting debate that saw, for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, high representatives of European Institutions engaged in open conversation with representatives of Europe's cultural heritage world such as:
- Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner responsible for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
- Luca Jahier, President of the European Economic and Social Committee
- Nina Obuljen-Koržinek, Minister of Culture, Acting Chair of the EU Council of Ministers (Croatia)
- Sabine Verheyen, Member of the European Parliament, Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education
- Anne Karjalainen, Member of the European Committee of the Regions, Chair of the SEDEC commission
- Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation & Executive President of Europa Nostra
- Stéphane Bern, author and TV journalist
- Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra (moderator)
- Harry Verwayen, Executive Director of Europeana Foundation (moderator)
The meeting was the occasion to launch The Europe Day Manifesto aiming at conveying a strong message of solidarity, hope and unity to Europe’s leaders and citizens at a time when Europe and the entire planet are struggling to overcome an unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus.
The Europe Day Manifesto is now open for signatures by individuals and organisations (from this link): show your support and help to unfold the cohesive power of cultural heritage for the Future of Europe! The Manifesto will be translated into different languages and widely disseminated by all the members of the European Heritage Alliance; it will also be submitted to EU Ministers in charge of culture ahead of their Video-conference of 19 May 2020.
