A toolkit for local and cross-border heritage events has been jointly developed by European Heritage Days coordinators in Finland, Norway and Poland, inspired by the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.
The toolkit provides ideas and inspiration for Cultural Routes – and other heritage sites and networks – to organise events to celebrate European Heritage Days.
Public events are an excellent way to showcase cultural sites and engage the public in cultural heritage. Cross-border events in particular offer opportunities to highlight common European culture and collaboration between heritage networks.
Intended as a guide for those looking to organise cross-border heritage events, the toolkit provides advice on events ranging from walks and tours at Cultural Routes destinations to sports competitions hosted at heritage sites. The toolkit offers ideas for events and advice for organising them.
The toolkit draws from ideas and examples from the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe as well as from national coordinators of European Heritage Days across Europe. Coordinated by European Heritage Days coordinators in Finland, Norway and Poland, ideas were gathered via a survey conducted in autumn 2024. The toolkit is designed for use by Cultural Routes sites, European Heritage Label sites, other heritage locations, communities and enthusiasts. It encourages the organisation of events for European Heritage Days, with a special emphasis on collaboration with other European heritage sites to celebrate shared European culture and strengthen heritage networks.
European Heritage Days 2025 will be based on the theme ‘architectural heritage’. Cultural and heritage networks involved are invited to take advantage of templates in the toolkit to promote their work on social media, using the hashtag #EuropeanHeritageDays.
The toolkit project was funded by European Heritage Days, a joint programme of the Council of Europe and the European Union.
The toolkit is available in English, Finnish, Norwegian and Polish. It can be accessed via the following links: Euroopan kulttuuriympäristöpäivät / Finnish, Kulturverndagene / Norwegian and Europejskich Dni Dziedzictwa / Polish.
