European Heritage Volunteers organises annual conferences dedicated to good practices of heritage education and volunteering for European cultural heritage.
The conferences' language is English. Participation is free of charge.
The 2024 conference under the title "Cultural Heritage and People: Crafting Community Connections" will take place on November 6th, 2024 at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste - The Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden / Germany.
The first half of the day will be dedicated to community engagement for cultural heritage, including UNESCO World Heritage sites. The afternoon programme will focus on conservation-restoration projects in Germany as well as throughout Europe.
The 2024 conference will be jointly organised by European Heritage Volunteers, the Saxon State Office for the Conservation of Monuments and the Academy of Fine Arts Dresden and financially supported by the Saxon State Ministry for Regional Development.
The 2023 conference took place on October 6th, 2023 at the Open-Air Museum of Lithuania in Rumsiskes near Kaunas. The conference under the title "Heritage and People" was jointly organised by European Heritage Volunteers and the Open-Air Museum of Lithuania and supported by the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania.
Find the detailed programme of the conference here.
The European Heritage Volunteers Conference was part of a three-day Heritage Forum from October 5th to October 7th, 2023 organised by the Open-Air Museum of Lithuania.
On October 5th, 2023 a conference under the title "Cherishing building traditions in cultural landscapes" took place at the Open-Air Museum.
On October 7th, 2023 an excursion to Kaunas will take place focusing on dialogue and awareness in the protection of cultural heritage.
Find the complete programme of the Heritage Forum under following link: https://www.llbm.lt/konferencija-forumas-statybos-tradiciju-puoselejimas-kulturiniuose-krastovaizdziuose-conference-forum-cherishing-building-traditions-in-cultural-landscapes/
The 2022 conference took place on October 25th, 2022 in Mauerbach Charterhouse near Vienna / Austria. The conference under the theme "Heritage skills - Past, Present and Future" had been jointly organised by European Heritage Volunteers, Burghauptmannschaft Österreich and Österreichisches Bundesdenkmalamt - The Federal Heritage Authority of the Republic of Austria - which's Information and Training Centre for Heritage Conservation is placed in Mauerbach Charterhouse.
The 2021 conference took place on October, 29th, 2021 in Görlitz / Germany, a historic town at the heart of Europe, at the German-Polish border.
The 2020 conference could not take place due to COVID-19 restrictions.
In 2019, the conference took place in Kraków / Poland and had been jointly organised by the National Heritage Board of Poland, European Heritage Volunteers, the International Cultural Centre Kraków and Fundacja Chronic Dobro.
As the final event of the 2019 European Heritage Volunteers Programme and the 2019 edition of the "Together for Heritage" programme of the National Heritage Board of Poland, the conference showcased the importance of volunteering as an appropriate tool for awareness raising, documentation, rescue, and preservation of cultural heritage, as well as for non-formal heritage education. Examples of good practice in heritage volunteering within Poland and other European countries illustrated the potential of cultural heritage volunteering. These examples demonstrated the applicability of volunteering for various types of heritage, various heritage-linked tasks, as well as different constellations of cooperation between non-governmental organisations, public authorities, foundations and other stakeholders active in the field of heritage.
The conference gathered representatives from organisations, institutions, and initiatives which had organised projects involving heritage volunteering and heritage education. Representatives of state authorities, heritage administrations, as well as citizens with personal experience in volunteering for cultural heritage have been present. A special focus had been placed on projects directed at young adults, students, and young professionals.
Apart from the presentations, the conference provided space for networking opportunities – in order to exchange about past and current projects, discuss ideas for future projects, and to strengthen and develop international cooperation in the fields of volunteering for cultural heritage and non-formal heritage education.
In 2018, the conference had been organised within the framework of Europe's Leading Trade Fair for Conservation, Restoration and Old Building Renovation “denkmal” in Leipzig / Germany.
The conference was a part of Germany's official programme on occasion of the European Year of Cultural Heritage and the final event of European Heritage Volunteers’ project “Best practice models of volunteering for European Cultural Heritage” within the framework of the European Year of Cultural Heritage as well as the opening of European Heritage Volunteers' overall project "Sharing Heritage - Sharing Engagement".
