New network to nurture EU heritage

Date: 06/02/1997

HERITAGE and conservation groups across the continent are constructing their first pan-European network to help them to target resources and forge new partnerships.

“Environment and heritage are not things that stop at bor-ders. Visitors are international and given the employment factors involved we must encourage sustainable tourism,” explained Claudia Hamill, head of European relations at the UK's National Trust.

The British-based organisation has sent questionnaires to like-minded bodies across Europe to discover what ideas exist for cooperative ventures and establish how they can best be put into practice.

The idea for the network linking non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the Union and in central and eastern Europe came from a three-day conference in Brussels last year supported by the EU's Phare programme.

Designed to encourage the spread of best practice, the event brought together for the first time 80 bodies from as far afield as Norway and Sweden in the north, Spain in the west and Hungary in the east.

It was organised to meet the growing number of requests from central and eastern Europe for advice and assistance in establishing and operating conservation groups.

The sudden surge in interest reflects not only a growing awareness of the need to preserve their countries' heritage, but also of the considerable job opportunities and foreign exchange which well-run tourist projects can generate.

The National Trust has led the way in building up contacts with similar groups committed to conserving Europe's diverse heritage.

“Now we need to identify the various needs of these organisations. We can exchange information, target resources and look at the possibility of joint-funding operations and partnerships. The network must be practical, not bureaucratic,” said Hamill.