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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Making cultural heritage more accessible with digital events
Taking part in European Heritage Days from anywhere
One of the key aims of Heritage: All Inclusive is to encourage the sharing of diverse cultural heritage across all 50 countries which take part in European Heritage Days. Although some European Heritage Days programmes have offered online events for a while, the restrictions of in-person events last year meant that many more organisers started experimenting with digital options. This year, we’re encouraging our programme coordinators to continue exploring how digital events can help widen access to our cultural heritage as part of the shared theme, Heritage: All Inclusive.
