Specific challenge: The history of Europe and over sixty years of European integration have fostered the emergence of cultural heritage at different levels – local, regional, national and, recently, European. In all its forms, cultural heritage, values, institutions and language are crucial for the collective memories and sociability of groups but also for the personal development of citizens, enabling them to find their place in society. They also serve as a source of inspiration for the development of people's personalities and talents. Extending to the very heart of Europe and constituting a basis for EU construction, they play a key role in providing a sense of European belonging and EU citizenship as distinct from, but combined with, national citizenship. Cultural heritage and values are at the heart of our capability of overcoming the current EU crisis which could well provide the stimulus for revising EU policies so as to provide a solid basis for the emergence of a truly European cultural heritage and for passing it to future generations. The challenge is to explore and show how critical reflection on the historical, cultural and normative roots of Europe´s cultural and democratic practices and institutions contribute to an evolving European identity today.

Scope: The multidisciplinary and comparative research will focus on the emergence of a European cultural heritage in a historical perspective and the best way to transmit it. The content and methodology of education and curricula should be taken into account, as well as the role of new technologies and media. It will address how the local, regional, national and European aspects of cultural heritage are interlinked, how they are understood or not by citizens and encouraged or not by various stakeholders and promoters of cultural heritage. It will also analyse how this interplay of cultural heritage at different levels impacts on Europeanisation and the citizens' perceptions on Europe. The research will focus on the place of critical reflection in sustaining this as a cultural resource. This research should include both tangible and intangible cultural heritage as well as less established or popular examples of cultural heritage in the area of the living arts and consider contemporary trends in arts and culture in the shaping of tomorrow's European cultural heritage in order to enrich the study differentiating between commercial and non-commercial aspects. The research will also focus on the multilingual nature of the European heritage, seeking to gain a deeper understanding of the axiological, linguistic, social and cultural aspects of multilingualism and how they ensure the transmission of cultural heritage across generations and borders.

The links between the valorisation of this combined cultural heritage and various forms of formal and non-formal education and training, as well as the development of social, axiological, linguistic, cultural and political memories or imaginaries, should be studied in order to assess potential trends towards various forms of European cultural heritage and its links with Europeanisation. This should also include the assessment of the touristic potential of the EU level cultural heritage.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 1.5 and 2.5 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected impact: Research will support the EU cultural policies linked to fostering the emergence, transmission and use of cultural heritage at local regional, national and, in particular, European level.

It will provide the different stakeholders at all relevant levels in various sectors of cultural heritage with an ambitious  approach to sharing its development and preservation at the different levels, suggesting innovative synergies between various levels of responsibility. These activities are expected to offer practical advice, best practices and a set of proposals regarding European cultural and educational institutions that could promote European cultural heritage and its use in Europe and internationally in full cooperation with relevant authorities and experts and the due participation of EU citizens at relevant levels.

Type of action: Research and innovation actions