Spring is bringing new milestones for this year's European heritage celebrations! Shortly after the launch of European Heritage Makers Week, a new opportunity has opened for citizens to share their heritage experiences. This time, there is no age limit for participation and everyone can join.

Officially launching today and closing on 20 May, the call for European Heritage Stories invites creative individuals and communities across Europe to share their perspectives on heritage.

As a new pilot project within European Heritage Days, the call is open in 50 European countries. The goal is to further encourage citizens’ involvement in the celebration of European Year of Cultural Heritage and The Art of Sharing theme, as well as to support creative new heritage projects. Everyone who wishes to share a heritage experience with the rest of Europe or put his or her local heritage sites on the European map is welcome to join. 

In addition to this, the project will support 10 most remarkable project proposals with 10,000 Euro grants. Inspired individuals and communities are welcome to submit their ideas for recreation, enhancement or promotion of cultural heritage sites near them for a chance to win the prize.

All you have to do is pick a story or make a project proposal and submit it to the call for European Heritage Stories on this page. In cooperation with national coordinators, a committee of members of the EHD Secretariat will pick the stories to feature on the European Heritage Days portal.

Important themes

The call for European Heritage Stories is an opportunity for all citizens to make a positive impact on Europe’s heritage landscape. All interested individuals and community groups from 50 European countries are welcome to submit their stories, ideas, and experiences.

The most important themes for the projects, which will also be the main criteria for the selection of winners, include the coverage of the important European Heritage Days themes. These include diversity, education, community engagement, youth orientation, as well as the European dimension. The additional criteria will include originality and feasibility of stories and projects, as well as the potential value-add to European citizens.

The Committee that will be assembled for the selection of the stories will also look at the long-term perspective, as well as a cross-frontier and cultural dimension of the project. After the evaluation of the projects, the Committee will select a minimum of 10 European Stories to receive a grant of a maximum of €10 000 each.

Application and selection

All interested individuals and communities are welcome to submit their stories/proposals via the e-form on the European Heritage Days portal. After the call is closed on 20th May, a Committee of members of the EHD Secretariat assisted by two international consultants will consider the proposals for a pre-selection. Up to 25 most compelling stories will be selected as a potential recipient of the grant and will be invited to submit additional narratives.

Important Dates

  • 20 April 2018: Launching of the Call
  • 20 May 2018: Deadline for submissions
  • 30 June 2018: Pre-selection of the Stories eligible to receive a grant
  • 1 July 2018: Second stage of the grant procedures, in which the pre-selected stories will be asked to deliver a more detailed total budget and project proposal.
  • 31 July: The final deadline to deliver the necessary documentation for pre-selected stories
  • 15 September 2018: Final selection of project proposals.
  • 21 September 2018: Notification of selection
  • October 2018: Award Ceremony for the grant recipients during the European Heritage Days Assembly meeting
  • November 2018: Start of the project activities
  • January – February 2019: Monitoring stage, in which grant recipients work with the Council of Europe to deliver needed financial and progress reports
  • 30 March 2019: End of the implementation stage, when the recipients must submit the final narrative and financial report for the justification of the grant

The call for European Heritage Stories is another important initiative for the celebrations of cultural heritage in 2018 and beyond. Proposed by Niamh Donnellan, Heritage Week Project Manager in Ireland, the project has gained its cross-border dimension and is now open to everyone with a relevant story to tell.

For those with a creative heritage project in mind or a unique idea that can make a difference to their local cultural environment, European Heritage Stories is a great way to bring it to life.

For more details about the application and selection process, visit this page.