On 8 February, the Council of Europe Secretariats of the European Heritage Days and of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes organised an online information meeting with the Representatives of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in order to present the Call for European Heritage Days Stories and related criteria to be considered for application.

The 2024 theme of the European Heritage Days will be dedicated to "Heritage of Routes, Networks and Connections" and will offer the ideal opportunity to establish a stronger partnership between both the EHD and Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Programmes.

In this framework, both Secretariats have initiated closer cooperation by agreeing with the European Commission that the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe engage as network carriers in the Call for European Heritage Days Stories. Additionally, the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe are now eligible for the Competitive Grant Award "European Heritage Days Stories”. This Call is also open to European Heritage Days communities from the 48 countries participating in the EHD programme this year, European Heritage Award/Europa Nostra Award winners, European Heritage Label sites, and, from this year onwards, to all certified “Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe”. The deadline for submitting applications is 15 March 2024.

During the online information meeting, the Secretariats provided detailed eligibility criteria for both the Call and the Competitive Grant and addressed different questions from Cultural Routes Representatives.

The European Heritage Days, a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Commission since 1999, are the most widely celebrated participatory cultural events of Europe. The pan-European nature of this project contributes to bringing citizens together and highlighting the European dimension of cultural heritage in the signatory States of the European Cultural Convention.