Our Civic Heritage
The project Our Civic Heritage seeks to promote European common values and civic education and engagement in Europe. It addresses three types of target groups: members of the public that are interested in civic participation activities, educators that teach civic participation and cultural heritage, and policy makers and those working in the cultural heritage and civic sector whether in a public or private capacity.
Traditionally the term ‘heritage’ is used to describe a people’s language, culture or architecture in a historic way. More current definitions of heritage focus rather on contemporary society in terms of what people have in common, promoting the values of diversity, civic participation and intercultural understanding. A city’s heritage is no longer a set of buildings, archaeological sites or statues of people showcasing historic facts but also a set of values that promote civic engagement and participation, openness to society and critical thinking.
The development of civic competences – knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that enable an individual to actively participate in the society – is a prerequisite for the active, democratic and civic engagement of people in their societies. Education in ‘values’ helps to build our civic heritage -inclusive societies on the shared values of democracy, tolerance and freedom by strengthening solidarity and local communities.
The Covid-19 pandemic is already changing the way people are engaging with each other and how they are supporting their local communities and national initiatives. Activities related to civic engagement have become stronger than ever during this pandemic, getting people closer together during a time of extreme physical isolation. From informal local and small initiatives such as helping vulnerable neighbours during the pandemic, to large scale national programmes of volunteering to support health service or food production, all citizens have a role to play. We have also noted during this period, unprecedented support for a European action and involvement of citizens to support at European level. As we are still in the early days of this pandemic and these new ways of working, we will monitor how people’s civic engagement will progress. There will be a lot of mourning and reflection at the end of this crisis, but also quite a lot to celebrate on. Civic engagement is bound to be a success story.
The project Our Civic Heritage seeks to promote European common values and civic education and engagement in Europe. It addresses three types of target groups: members of the public that are interested in civic participation activities, educators that teach civic participation and cultural heritage, and policy makers and those working in the cultural heritage and civic sector whether in a public or private capacity.
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This project is supported by Erasmus+, and the partners are Pressure Line, NL (Lead Partner); Smashing Times, IRL; IntheCity, NL; Dona Daria, NL; Jfdek Ltf, UK; UNIVERSITA PER STRANIERI DI SIENA, IT; KuTu, BG; IFESCOOP, ES; Fundatia Centrul Educational Spektrum, RO; Landsbyggðin lifi, ISL.
