Greece Launches European Cultural Heritage Year Events

This year’s European Cultural Heritage celebrations kicked off in Athens with the “Rebetiko Meets Flamenco and Fados” event held recently at the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron Mousikis).

Greek Culture Minister Lydia Koniordou

The event, which was organized by the Greek Culture Ministry, marks the official launch of festivities aiming to encourage Europeans to discover and engage with their history, identity and traditions through a series of events across the continent.

The Athens concert showcased three urban popular traditions, born and developed in the ports of the Mediterranean, on the occasion of the inscription of the Greek rebetiko genre on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list last December.

“Europe’s policy on heritage is based on four foundations: commitment to a shared heritage… sustainability through policies… protection of cultural heritage and addressing illicit activities… emphasis on research, innovation and training,” said Greek Culture Minister Lydia Koniordou addressing the event.

The European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 is an initiative of the European Commission. A major theme this year is research and innovation (R&I) in efforts to make cultural heritage more accessible to people across Europe. The High Level Innovation and Cultural Heritage Conference will take place on March 20 in Brussels, to launch the R&I-themed events and activities within the European Cultural Heritage Year activities.