Council of Europe cultural heritage and education policy: Preserving identity and searching for a common core?

Abstract

This article presents the Council of Europe's educational policy, indicating its major milestones and characteristics when it comes to issues of cultural heritage. First it offers an analysis of the strategic documents (i.e. recommendation No. R (98) 5 of the committee of ministers to member states concerning heritage education and conventions, with emphasis on the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro Convention). The notion of a common European Cultural Heritage as a shared and non-renewable resource is presented in the human rights approach to cultural heritage. The article pays special attention to intercultural dialogue and how it is supposed to support the European cultural identity. The second part explores existing links between the Council of Europe (CoE) and EU policies. The EU joint programmes regarding Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (Joint Programme with the European Commission [DG GROW] and Joint Programme with the European Commission [DG-REGIO] (Routes4U) are presented. Additionally, the authors point out the links between the UNESCO cultural conventions and the Council of Europe policy framework. Finally, the article delivers conclusions as to whether a synergy exists between the European Union's and the CoE's policies, and answers the question why this is so important in cultural heritage education.