On 28-29 November, the European Heritage Days (EHD) Assembly took place at the Council of Europe Headquarters in Strasbourg, bringing together the national coordinators of the European Heritage Days programme.

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.

Each year, EHD national coordinators vote on a theme to be implemented for upcoming EHD editions, encouraging the promotion of specific aspects of our shared cultural heritage.

The 2024 theme of the European Heritage Days will be dedicated to "Heritage of Routes, Networks and Connections", and will provide an ideal opportunity to bring together two of the Council of Europe's flagship programmes in the field of cultural heritage : the European Heritages Days and the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme.

On the occasion of the EHD Assembly, the Secretariat of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe presented the programme to the EHD national coordinators as well as concrete activities developed by the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe at local level.

The meeting highlighted the shared objectives of the European Heritage Days and the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe and explored potential synergies with a view to closer cooperation in the framework of the 2024 European Heritage Days.