Kiri

12, September 2022 H.E Piret Hartman Minister of Culture of the Republic of Estonia Subject: Letter from Europa Nostra on the strategic importance of cultural heritage within the forthcoming Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026 Dear Mr. Minister, We have the pleasure of addressing you in our capacity as Executive President and Secretary General of Europa Nostra, the European Voice of Civil Society committed to Cultural Heritage, ahead of the next meeting of the Committee on Cultural Affairs of the Council of the EU on 19 September 2022, in which EU Ministers in charge of culture will discuss, among other things, the forthcoming Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026. As recognised in the New European Agenda for Culture, the European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage and the current multiannual Council Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022, cultural heritage is a strategic vector to achieve several key priorities of the European Union. These include fostering social cohesion and nurturing a sense of togetherness and belonging to Europe, driving the green and inclusive transformation of our societies and economies, as well as promoting peace and solidarity as core values in the relations of the EU with the rest of the world. For these reasons, we are confident that the protection and enhancement of Europe’s cultural heritage will continue to duly feature as a strategic and crosscutting priority in the Work Plan for Culture 2023-2026 which is currently under preparation. Europa Nostra, also in its role as coordinator of the European Heritage Alliance - a sectoral platform gathering over 50 European heritage networks - and Regional Co-Chair of the Climate Heritage Network for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, remains at the full disposal of the Committee on Cultural Affairs to provide any relevant expertise and input in relation to cultural heritage. We are also delighted to inform you that we shall discuss the vital role of cultural heritage to address the pressing issues outlined above during our high-level European Heritage Policy Agora “For a Value and Culture-Driven Europe” taking place on 27 September in Prague, in the framework of the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2022 organised in cooperation with the European Commission and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and which was included in the official programme of the Czech Presidency of the European Union. We are committed to establish the best possible synergies and bridges between the work of the CAC and the results of our Prague Summit, in particular through our close and excellent cooperation with the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union and acting Chair of the CAC. In the face of the ongoing and deplorable developments in Ukraine, which Europa Nostra firmly condemns, we are ever more convinced of the urgent need to place our common values and shared cultural heritage at the very heart of what brings us together. We therefore count on you to seize this crucial moment and recognise the strategic value of our shared cultural heritage for a more beautiful, sustainable, inclusive and peaceful Europe. We thank you in advance for your personal attention and support for our pressing appeal. Respectfully and cordially yours, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović Hermann Parzinger Secretary General Executive President