Throughout 2018, an unparalleled series of activities and events are encouraging people to discover, engage with, and treasure Europe's shared heritage.

As the European Year of Cultural Heritage enters into spring, we’d like to welcome you to the third newsletter in the series. Here, we’ll be bringing you all of the relevant highlights and opportunities as the celebrations continue. Don’t forget to share it with friends and colleagues who may be interested, and look out for more updates delivered straight to your inbox.

Protecting our common heritage

It’s up to all of us to preserve our cultural heritage. We must recognise the traces of cultures that once inhabited our continent, so that we may pass them on for generations to come. Our cultural heritage is valuable, and we can’t afford to leave it to decay or destruction.

This year represents a perfect opportunity to reflect upon how to protect our cultural heritage, together. As such, protection is one of the four main themes of the year, alongside engagement, sustainability and innovation.

New research is addressing the inadvertent destruction of culturally significant sites and artefacts when clearing regions after war or conflict. Dr Margarete van Ess, director of the Orient Department at the German Archaeological Institute, has been actively involved with safeguarding of the cultural heritage of Iraq. “Time is rather short, when the war is over, to collect and safeguard the remains.” She added: “People of course want to restore their daily life and to achieve this they will remove and destroy in a second way their cultural heritage.” Read more about this at Horizon Magazine.

Horizon Magazine also spent the month of March digging into Europe’s past.

The protection of Europe's shared heritage relies upon developing and sharing specialised skills and knowledge in the field of cultural heritage. With this in mind, in April we will be celebrating the European Artistic Crafts Days, JEMA (les Journeés Européennes des Métiers d'Art).

The Europe-wide events aim to support knowledge-sharing in the field of heritage, increasing the value of arts and crafts' know-how. Throughout the month, workshops will open their doors, demonstrations will be held, and training schools will be open. Join in and help keep heritage alive!

Did you know that the Erasmus+ programme funds studies in the cultural heritage field? The TEMA+ Master Programme (European Territories: Heritage and Development) is just one of the five heritage-related Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees (EMJMDs). It offers a network-based, critical-analytical approach to establish innovative projects within European Cultural Heritage Studies. The course serves to pass the torch on to new cultural heritage professionals.

Since the launch of the European Year of Cultural Heritage in December 2017 at European level, over 25 national launch events have taken place across Europe. Recently, the year was launched in, Malta, Norway, Latvia, Scotland and Cyprus.

There are a number of upcoming events across Europe that will be celebrating our heritage in all its forms:

• European museum of the year award ceremony and annual European museum forum conference – 9-12 May, Warsaw, Poland
• Natura 2000 days – 21 May, Europe-wide
• Private heritage week: Our house, your heritage – 24-27 May, Europe-wide
• EU Open Days– 5 May, Brussels, Belgium
• Digital Humanities Conference 2018 – 27-31 May, Budapest, Hungary
• European Heritage Summit 18-24 June, Berlin, Germany

Many more events will take place in the coming months! Check out what’s happening near you on the European Year of Cultural Heritage website or your country's website.

Can’t make these events in person? Follow all the action on Twitter using the hashtag: #EuropeForCulture.

Nine historical sites have received the European Heritage Label during an award ceremony on 26 March in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. These sites join the 29 historical landmarks that have already been designated European Heritage sites. Receiving the label means that each place is considered a milestone in the creation of the modern Europe we see today.

Check out these amazing sites:

• Leipzig’s Musical Heritage Sites, Germany, nine locations representing various episodes of its musical history from churches to individual composers. Watch an inspiring short clip;
• The Dohàny Street Synagogue, Hungary, the largest synagogue in Europe that is a symbol of integration, remembrance and openness to a dialogue. Watch this short clip and find out more; 
• The Sighet Memorial, Romania, housed in a former Stalinist prison, in operation from 1948 to the 1970s, and now serves as a memorial to the victims of communist regimes. Watch a short clip.

Further information on the nine sites can be found in this report, and all European Heritage sites can be found on the Creative Europe website.

The seven most endangered heritage sites 2018 has been announced by Europa Nostra, to raise awareness of some of Europe's hidden treasures that are in danger of being lost.

Some of the named sites include:

• The Prinkipo Greek Orphanage on Princes’ Islands, Turkey, considered the largest wooden building in Europe.
• The Grimsby Ice Factory, UK, the UK’s oldest ice factory, now serving as a reminder of Grimsby’s fishing and maritime heritage;
• The Constanta Casino, Romania, an Art Nouveau building from 1910 that has been abandoned since the early 2000s.

Information on all seven sites is available here.

To mark the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration of 1950, we’ll be celebrating Europe Day! On 5 May (Brussels), 5 and 9 May (Luxembourg) and 10 June (Strasbourg), the European institutions will open their doors to the public. Come along to see what happens behind the scenes.

To coincide with the European Year of Cultural Heritage, many countries will be holding themed Europe Day celebrations. Traditional music will fill the streets of Spanish towns and cities,  while Latvia will be celebrating the diversity of European heritage through films and music in a concert hall in Riga.

And this year, Europe Day is going global! Thanks to the support of European Commission Delegations abroad, many projects dedicated to cultural heritage will be implemented throughout May. To quote a few examples; in Argentina, Malaysia, Mexico and Canada, Europe Day will see photo exhibitions dedicated to the Year. The Dominican Republic has planned a whole Europe week, featuring national competitions, cultural activities and a European Gastronomic Festival. In the USA, Europe Day will be celebrated with a public event on digital preservation of cultural heritage, workshops and a virtual reality show.

Finally, if you can’t celebrate Europe Day in person, then why not celebrate it digitally? The #Ode2Joy challenge, launched by Europa Nostra, invites participants to re-interpret the European anthem; Beethoven's classical masterpiece, ‘Ode to Joy’. The contributions will be live streamed and posted on social media using the hashtag #Ode2Joy.

The Horizon 2020 Conference on Innovation and Cultural Heritage was successfully held on 20 March, jointly organised by three Commission's departments working with culture, research communication and technology, promoting a real integrated approach to cultural heritage. Participants debated the most promising innovations working to preserve Europe's cultural heritage, showcasing a wide range of examples, from interdisciplinary approaches to analyse transnational cultural landscapes, to collaborative and circular approaches for the regeneration and adaptive reuse of historic city centres. The event’s sessions highlighted policy, social, technological, methodological innovations, as well as new, promising partnerships for cultural heritage. The European Commission's policy review, 'Innovation in Cultural Heritage Research', was also presented. Were you unable to attend? You can still stream the conference.

The EU has launched a new publication, ‘Reconnecting natural and cultural capital – Contributions from science and policy’ in connection with the European Year of Cultural Heritage. The book aims to raise awareness of the need to retain biological and cultural diversity, and to strengthen the links between nature and culture in order to respond to modern challenges in sustainability and well-being. Are you interested in knowing more? Download it for free!

There are numerous opportunities for your activities, projects or research to receive EU support or promotion in connection with the European Year of Cultural Heritage. We’ve rounded up the best ways to join in with events or activities taking place across Europe in the following months.

This call for proposals under the Erasmus + programme will support transnational cooperation projects in the fields of education, training and youth. Projects are encouraged to include activities related to the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.

Deadline for applications: 22 May 2018- 13:00.

A new competition is inviting participants to get creative and describe the European spirit with an Italian itinerary. The Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism has launched a national short story competition, aimed at the creation stories set in Animus Loci places.

Deadline: 30th April

Need to let off some steam? On 1 May 2018, thousands of young people will be dancing simultaneously at 100 European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) sites to the sounds of Beethoven's Ode to Joy.

The giant dance event aims to creatively reflect the spirit and rhythm of industrial production, and don’t worry if you have two left feet – simple steps will help you to join in.

Keen photographer? Fan of religious heritage? Or perhaps you’re fond of exploring different cities? If so, you might be interested in the The Future for Religious Heritage (FRH) photowalk. Taking place on 6 May in three different European cities: Paris (France), Asti (Italy) and Middelburg (The Netherlands), everyone is welcome – no matter your skill level.

Make sure you share photos on social media with the hashtag #FHRPhotowalk. You can post up to three shots, all of which will be entered into a subsequent competition.