LEAGUE OF EUROPEAN RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES DECLARATION ON THE JOINT PROGRAMMING INITIATIVE
‘CULTURAL HERITAGE AND GLOBAL CHANGE: A NEW CHALLENGE FOR EUROPE’ (THE UCL DECLARATION)
Safeguarding European cultural heritage through a joint Strategic Research Agenda across the disciplines
EUROPE today is home to, and thrives on, an extraordinarily diverse wealth of cultural heritage – from unique ancient architecture, cultural artifacts and outstanding landscapes to living practices, traditions and expressions, oral, written and digital. These attract millions of visits from within and outside Europe every year, playing a central role in European citizens’ and residents’ quality of life and sense of patrimony, and significantly contributing to economic and regional development. But cultural heritage is also under threat from contemporary global transformations, including climate change, mass tourism and urbanization. In order to protect this fragile resource from continuous decay, coordinated and strategic research is needed to underpin concerted actions. We need to coordinate research policies and initiatives and strategically pool our expertise in order to best address local conditions and needs, thus safeguarding Europe’s unique and evolving patrimony.
In the European Union, Joint Programming provides a new framework within which Member States jointly address areas where public research programmes may help respond to major societal challenges. A 2008 Commission
Communication
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defines it as a process that involves identifying a Common Vision, defining a Strategic Research
Agenda (SRA) and implementing it through a Joint Programming Initiative (JPI). A workshop held to coincide with the commencement of the JPI and work on the SRA on Cultural Heritage and Global Change was organized by
University College London on behalf of the League of European Research Universities (LERU) on 12 December 2011.
The workshop participants, recognizing that
Cultural heritage plays an essential role for today’s enlarged Europe and its citizens, and has a significant impact on areas including economic and regional development, environment, education and innovation.
Cultural heritage research across the disciplines is called upon to help mitigate the effects of climate change on Europe’s cultural heritage, to protect and secure it at a time of far-reaching global change, and understand its cultural uses by our transforming societies.
Europe’s leading research universities are ideally placed to provide the Member State representatives on the
JPI Governing and Executive Boards with input to develop a Strategic Research Agenda in this field.
Made the following recommendations:
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To define the SRA as fundamentally cross-disciplinary, ranging from the arts and humanities to scientific and technology research, and as building on previous RAs developed by initiatives such as NET-Heritage, HERA-Net and DC-Net.
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To define the SRA’s scope as a strategically balanced approach covering research on tangible, intangible and digital heritage, and to focus equally on cultural landscapes, buildings, collections, associated practices and digital resources.
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To coordinate research priorities and activities across the Member States with the explicit aim of leading to evidence-based policy, improved regulation and the inclusion of cultural heritage protection in EU Directives and Framework Programmes.
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To stress how a joint SRA can enhance the mobility of, and in the long term improve, the framework conditions for researchers at all stages of their careers, as well as promote favourable training programmes.
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To define and defend the excellence of research as covering both basic and applied research, as such including, but not being restricted to, innovation.
The participants expressed their conviction that the JPI, underpinned by jointly coordinated research programmes on cultural heritage, will contribute fully to the objectives set out in Horizon 2020,
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the new Framework
Programme for Research and Innovation, reinforcing the case for cultural heritage to be specifically included among the ‘Societal Challenges’. The joint initiatives will also contribute to the further development of the
European Research Area, as well as underline the objectives of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union on the conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage of European significance (Art. 167).
The present Declaration was approved by the participants of the Workshop and will be communicated to JPI
Cultural Heritage and Global Change Governing and Executive Boards through the JPI coordinator.
London, 12 December 2011
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"Towards Joint Programming in Research: Working Together to Tackle Common Challenges More Effectively", COM(2008) 468 final of 15.07.2008.
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“Horizon 2020 - The Framework Programme for Research and Innovation”, COM(2011) 808 final of 30.11.2011.