European Heritage Heads Forum

Last updated
EHHF
Founded2006
TypeIntergovernmental Forum
Focus Cultural Heritage
Region servedEurope
HeadquartersBrussels, Belgium
Website www.ehhf.eu

The European Heritage Heads Forum (EHHF) is an informal professional and expert network that brings together the heads of the European state heritage authorities (built heritage, landscapes, archaeology, etc.) to share knowledge and ideas, promoting consistency in the management of the historic environment in the 21st century. The heads are primarily the directors-general of the departments responsible for immovable heritage within the relevant national ministries (e.g., the Ministry of Culture and Environment). [1]

Contents

Discussion centres on emerging trends, political engagement, European legislation and the scope of international heritage protection and how these affect national heritage policies and impact upon historic monuments, sites and urban centres. The Council of Europe, the European Commission, as well as the representatives of civil society, are associated with the activities of the EHHF by attending the annual meetings and encouraging the impact assessment of the cultural heritage sector at the EU level. The EHHF acts as an advocate for heritage and produces strong statements on specific issues to support common concerns. [2] [3]

History

A European Heritage Summit was first organised in London from 26 to 28 April 2006 by Dr. Simon Thurley, former Chief Executive Officer of English Heritage. The mission of the Summit was to gather European heritage leaders for the first time, allowing them to exchange experiences and initiate common actions. It was attended by representatives from 23 European states, which agreed in the Final Statement to continue meeting annually as a forum of European heritage leaders, known as the “European Heritage Heads Forum.” [4] Different countries have successively hosted the following EHHF annual meetings. [5]

In May 2014, the EHHF's annual meeting was attended by representatives from a record 26 European states. [6]

The EHHF Troika

The steering committee of the EHHF is a Troika composed of the head, or heads, of heritage from the country which hosted the annual meeting in the previous year and the heads of the countries which will host the subsequent two meetings. [7] The host of the next annual meeting chairs the troika meetings. Future hosting countries are chosen by general agreement at the annual meeting.

The EHHF Secretariat

The EHHF Secretariat reports to the Troika and is responsible for organising the annual meetings, circulating information to EHHF members, following up on the actions agreed by the EHHF, maintaining the EHHF website and upholding the original purpose for the informal meeting of the heads of the European heritage agencies to:

Since January 2014, a permanent administrative secretary has been appointed to manage the EHHF Secretariat alongside the Troika members. The permanent Secretariat is based in Brussels, within the offices of the Flanders Heritage Agency, and is funded by annual contributions from EHHF members, as agreed upon at the meeting in Oslo in May 2013. [11]

Annual Meetings

EHHF Annual Meeting, 2014 (Leuven, Belgium) Group picture Leuven 2014.jpg
EHHF Annual Meeting, 2014 (Leuven, Belgium)
Year [12] Hosting HeadCountry
2006 Simon THURLEY, Chief Executive, English Heritage London, United Kingdom
2007Pavel JERIE, Director-General, Czech National Institute for the Protection and Conservation of Monuments and SitesPrague, Czech Republic
2008 Steen HVASS, Director-General, Heritage Agency of Denmark Copenhagen, Denmark
2009 Eva-Maria HOHLE, President, Austrian Federal Office for the Protection of Monuments

Katarína KOSOVA, Director-General, Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic

Vienna, Austria

Bratislava, Slovakia [13]

2010 Philippe BÉLAVAL, Director-General, Direction générale des Patrimoines|Heritage, Ministry of Culture and Communication (France)Paris, France
2011Cees VAN 'T VEEN, Director, Cultural Heritage Agency of The Netherlands Amsterdam, the Netherlands
2012 Gerd WEISS, President, Association of State Conservators in the Federal Republic of GermanyPotsdam, Germany
2013 Jørn HOLME, Director, Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage Oslo, Norway
2014Sonja VANBLAERE, Administrator general, Flanders Heritage Agency

Pierre PAQUET, General Inspector, Department of Heritage, Wallonia

Thierry WAUTERS, Director, Department of Monuments and Sites, Brussels [14]

Leuven, Belgium [15] [16]
2015Niall O’DONNCHU, Assistant Secretary Heritage Division, Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Dublin, Ireland [17] [18]
2016Oliver MARTIN, Head of Section, Cultural Heritage and Historic Monuments, Swiss Federal Office of Culture Bern, Switzerland [19]
2017Kristín Huld SIGURDARDOTTIR, Director General, The Cultural Heritage Agency of IcelandReykjavik, Iceland
2018 Patrick SANAVIA, Director, Service des Sites et Monuments Nationaux, Ministry of CultureLuxembourg

The European Heritage Legal Forum (EHLF) was founded in 2008 following the EHHF annual meeting held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The heads agreed in their Final Statement to the creation of a sub-committee to improve their capacity for early identification of EU legislation which may pose a potential threat to cultural heritage. A forum of legal experts appointed by the national competent authorities was subsequently formed, which reports to the EHHF. The mission of the EHLF is to ensure that relevant information on the development and potential consequences of proposed legislation developed by the European Union is circulated in a timely manner to heritage state authorities. In addition to this monitoring task, the EHLF may make recommendations to the EHHF for revised wording of the draft legislation and possible exemptions for cultural heritage. [9] [20] [21] [16]

References

  1. Stubbs, John H.; Bouchenaki, Emily G. Makaš ; foreword by Mounir (2011). Architectural conservation in Europe and the Americas : national experiences and practice. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   9780470901113.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. "News article". Europa Nostra. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  3. "European Heritage Heads Forum in Oslo". Riksantikvaren. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  4. Thurley, Simon. "European Heritage". Simon Thurley. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  5. Warr, Alexandra. "The Conservators' Guide to European Institutions". Building Conservation. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  6. "List of participants" (PDF). EHHF. Retrieved 31 October 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. "Final Statement 2006" (PDF). EHHF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  8. Altenberg, Karin (27 May 2015). "Rapport från European Heritage Heads Forum". K-BLOGG. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Final Statement 2008" (PDF). EHHF. Retrieved 29 October 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. Lamb, Deborah. "Towards a More Open Heritage" (PDF). English Heritage. Conservation Bulletin. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  11. "Final Statement 2013" (PDF). EHHF. Retrieved 29 October 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. "Annual Meetings". EHHF. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  13. "EHHF". Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  14. "European Heritage Heads Forum". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  15. "9. doroczna konferencja European Heritage Heads Forum". National Heritage Board of Poland. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  16. 1 2 "European Heritage Heads Forum". Onroerend Erfgoed (in Dutch). 23 October 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  17. "Ireland hosts 10th annual meeting for European Heads of Heritage". MerrionStreet. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  18. "Ireland hosts 10th annual meeting for European Heads of Heritage". Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Archived from the original on 31 May 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  19. "The European Heritage Heads Forum Dublin 2015". Heritage Portal. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  20. Karl Goehner, Wolfgang. "EHLF" . Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  21. "EHLF (European Heritage Legal Forum)". Deutschen Nationalkomitee für Denkmalschutz. Retrieved 4 November 2014.