The EHD are the most widely celebrated participatory cultural events in Europe
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 shared by the inhabitants and visitors 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. Over 70 000 events are organised every year in order to help raise awareness of the value of this common heritage and the need for its conservation for present and future generations.
2024 Shared annual theme - "Routes, Networks and Connections"
In 2023, #EuropeanHeritageDays will be dedicated to "Routes, Networks and Connections". National Coordinators have chosen the theme of Routes, Networks and Connections for European Heritage Days 2024.
Event organisers are welcome to adapt this theme in ways that would best suit their language and culture. At the heart of this theme is the notion that our heritage, in both its tangible and intangible forms, has much to tell us about how peoples, communities, countries and cultures have long been connected, and how they continue to be, through common values, shared practices and a desire to protect and share the stories and places that make up our individual and collective histories.
European Heritage Days are being celebrated in 48 European countries, and can sometimes bear a different name. In different countries we are also recognised as: “Tag des Denkmals” (Austria), “Journées du Patrimoine”, “Open Monumententdag” (Belgium and Netherlands), “Muinsuskaitsepäevade” (Estonia), “Tag des offenen Denkmals” (Germany), “Kulturális Örökség Napjai” (Hungary), “National Heritage Week” (Ireland), “Kulturminnedagene” (Norway), “Kulturarvsdagen” (Sweden), “Heritage Open Days”, “Open House London”, “Doors Open Days” and “Drysau Agored” (United Kingdom).
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European Heritage Days events - overcoming language barriers
Improving cultural heritage events accessibility by overcoming language barriers
European Heritage Days through this year's theme Heritage: All-Inclusive are encouriging event organisers to consider how they can make their events more accessible and welcoming to all.
Language is very important in expressing ourselvs and as such a key part of identity and culture. Language connects us all, allows us to communicate our ideas and helps us tell our stories. Ensuring that the language of the events is accessible to audiences is therefore very important. Everyone should feel welcome at European Heritage Days events, so organisers should aim to keep wording and phrasing clear and straightforward to make sure they encourage exploration of new topics and that no one is excluded. Our Inclusive Events Toolkit provides some ideas for tailoring language to make it more accessible.
