European Heritage Label: Changes, Challenges & Perspectives

In 2011 the European Heritage Label (EHL) was established. This European Union initiative names monuments and sites which have the status of a European symbol and play a significant role in the history and culture of Europe or in building the European Union.

By 2018, 38 sites from 18 countries have been put on the list. Although the EHL is a new initiative, it is already high time to start a discussion on the meaning and role of the “label” in the local, regional and European context.

The three-day conference in Kraków will be a gathering of practitioners, theoreticians and officials: members of the EHL Panel, managers of sites awarded the label, specialists on cultural heritage and promoting sites, researchers representing various disciplines, representatives of local and national government. The aim of the meeting will be to debate on the concept of EHL and to share experiences. We will talk about building European narratives, branding sites, questions of management and challenges facing the managers, and using the potential contained in the EHL title. Other initiatives promoting heritage, including the UNESCO World Heritage List, will also be discussed.

The participation in the conference has already been confirmed among others by: Michel Magnier - Director for Culture & Creativity of the European Commission, Bénédicte Selfslagh - president of ICOMOS-Belgium and an EHL Panel member, Beatrice Kelly - Head of Policy and Research of the Irish The Heritage Council and an EHL Panel member, Csilla Hegedüs – former Minister for Culture of Romania and an EHL Panel member and Prof. Jean-Louis Luxen - Secretary General of ICOMOS from 1993 to 2002.


Conference prepared within the European Year of Cultural Heritage.

The registration fee is 50 euro. To register for the conference please send an e-mail to m.swidrak[at]mck.krakow.pl.