Nearly 70 cultural heritage professionals have established a Turkish chapter of Europa Nostra, a European body dedicated to protecting cultural heritage, to carry out exchange projects and promote local awareness of Turkey's cultural background.
Europa Nostra–Turkey will focus on improving exchanging information and experience with its European counterparts at a time when Turkey faces significant change relating to its cultural heritage, including the recent controversy over Istanbul possibly being removed from UNESCO’s World Heritage List and the threats various hydroelectric power plant projects pose to areas of cultural heritage significance.
Europa Nostra–Turkey was convened during the European Heritage Summit held in Istanbul between June 8 and 12. The summit was attended by about 250 architects, archaeologists, museum curators, representatives of cultural heritage institutes and non-governmental organizations, many of whom called for the establishment of a local chapter of the organization, given the number of cultural heritage protection projects undertaken in Turkey.
A working group within Europa Nostra–Turkey will work to increase participation in the program in Turkey and will address the current perception that civil society should do more to create solidarity with its European counterparts in order raise awareness and interest in cultural heritage protection projects. Europa Nostra-Turkey aims to infuse Turkey’s cultural heritage sector with new energy and a new approach to protection projects, stressing that cultural heritage is not just an academic field of activity, but a concern to all parts of society.
Europa Nostra-Turkey also aims to establish a Turkish cultural heritage center in collaboration with universities, relevant public authorities and nongovernmental organizations to help close an important gap in this field.
Europa Nostra represents 250 nongovernmental organizations, 150 associate organizations, and more than 1500 individual members from a number of countries throughout Europe that have dedicated themselves to the preservation of cultural heritage. The three central themes of Europa Nostra are to celebrate the best of European cultural heritage, to campaign in favor of cultural heritage at risk, and to lobby for its protection.
Source: Hurriyet [October 25, 2010]