On the occasion of the international event “Vigoni for Europe: Cultural Heritage and International Cultural Relations" on 9-11 September 2018, Stefano Dominioni, Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes and Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes, was invited to testify the role of the Cultural Routes programme with a special emphasis on the role played by culture in international relationships.

Organised by Villa Vigoni (German-Italian Centre for European Excellence) in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, the first edition of this event has brought together prestigious national and international experts of cultural heritage, including representatives from UNESCO and from the European Commission. The meeting was also the occasion to discuss cultural policies in the framework of the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage and possible activities in the context of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, with regard to the protection of Cultural Heritage.