The value of cultural heritage in a democratic society
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Text
adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of
the Assembly, on 1 March 2019 (see Doc. 14834, report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education
and Media, rapporteur: Lord Alexander Dundee). See
also Recommendation 2149
(2019).
1. Cultural diversity and the richness
of cultural heritage are important assets for European economies
and societies. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls the Council of
Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for
Society (CETS No. 199, “Faro Convention”), which promotes a wider
understanding of cultural heritage and its relationship to communities
and society. It also emphasises the importance of cultural heritage
as it relates not only to the economies of regions and local communities
but also to human rights and democracy in Europe.
2. In
Resolution 2123
(2016) and
Recommendation
2093 (2016) on culture and democracy, the Assembly broadens
the definition of culture to include spiritual, material, intellectual
and emotional features which characterise a society. This definition
thus covers not only cultural heritage, the arts and letters, but
also lifestyles, ways of thinking and acting, value systems, traditions
and beliefs. Seen in this context, culture then becomes a powerful
tool to encourage constructive thinking, to initiate public debate
and to strengthen democratic practice.
3. The Assembly considers that culture and heritage have a useful
role to play in regions and localities by sustaining their economies,
improving co-operation with their communities and inspiring better
and more creative solutions to their everyday problems, but only
if decision makers in the public and private sectors appreciate
their value. The Assembly therefore emphasises the core principles
of the Faro Convention, underlining that these should be widely
used and implemented locally, whether in towns, cities or rural
areas.
4. Accordingly, the Assembly recommends that the member States
of the Council of Europe:
4.1 sign
and ratify the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value
of Cultural Heritage for Society, if they have not already done
so;
4.2 assist local authorities to apply the principles laid
down in the convention and Recommendation CM/Rec(2017)1 on the European
Heritage Strategy for the 21st Century, and encourage, at State
level, policies to:
4.2.1 promote a greater degree of inclusiveness
within a wider range of expression in order to maximise the useful
contribution which culture can make to the State;
4.2.2 include culture and heritage more effectively in policies
for education, employment, the economy, research and innovation,
social services, health and welfare;
4.2.3 combine strategies and actions for local sustainable development
across different sectors, thus reflecting a new spirit of co-operation
which seeks to overcome restrictions all too often present within
national legislation and to provide necessary support and incentives
which can lead to constructive outcomes;
4.2.4 review and update education curricula and vocational training
so that they respond correctly to changing employment needs within
the cultural sector, allowing for a stronger combination of arts,
economy, technology and science to be formed in order to stimulate
much more effective interactions between technologies, the creative
arts and entrepreneurship.
5. The Assembly thus recommends that local and regional authorities:
5.1 formulate sustainable development
strategies using culture and heritage as core elements;
5.2 promote a positive vision of culture and its ability to
broaden skills and encourage innovative approaches to the economy;
5.3 resist being restrained by any unnecessary and arbitrary
divisions between culture and the economy;
5.4 bring together a wide range of associations and participants
in order to agree upon shared objectives for local development;
5.5 encourage partnerships between industries, cultural institutions,
local schools and vocational training institutions so that young
people become involved in redevelopment projects, especially in deprived
areas;
5.6 persuade cultural institutions to involve many more people
in their programmes and to explore new forms of engagement within
the community through their outreach services;
5.7 facilitate additional opportunities for jobs and skills
within the cultural and heritage sectors, by providing incentives
for new “creative spaces”, relevant local education modules, and
effective partnerships and training.
6. The Assembly pays tribute to the key role played by the Congress
of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and
to its achievements through co-operation in addressing the challenges
facing the cultural and democratic life of cities and rural areas.
For its part, the Assembly will promote such co-operation, notably
in connection with the four awards which make up the Europe Prize.
7. Following the success of the European Year of Cultural Heritage
2018, the Assembly invites the European Union to initiate further
co-operation with the Council of Europe through the European Framework for
Action on Cultural Heritage and the new European Agenda for Culture,
and also with European and international city networks and associations
to promote the implementation of the Faro principles in local and regional
sustainable development projects.
8. The Assembly also invites the European Commission to consider
whether existing funding programmes that cut across several Directorates
General (Regional and Urban Policy; Education; Education, Youth,
Sport and Culture (and its Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive
Agency); and Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion), might be
reviewed; this is in order to co-ordinate those programmes more
efficiently so that the funded projects themselves could be more
coherent and better co-ordinated to serve as best practice examples for
other European cities or regional areas.
