Last week’s launch of Heritage Week in Ireland has marked the opening of European Heritage Days 2017 and we are thrilled to celebrate the new start with a fresh design of our portal! 

For the past four years, the European Heritage Days portal has been a vibrant online hub of event organisers, volunteers, visitors and heritage researchers looking to plan, promote and share their European Heritage Days experiences. By enabling the passionate heritage community of Europe to share knowledge and information online, it has helped develop new creative approaches to heritage and new relationships between those who cherish its values.

In the wake of the newest edition of European Heritage Days, we are expanding the portal’s capabilities to bring the spirit of the festival closer to European citizens. In addition to the vivid new look and feel, we have also added a set of new functionalities to make your exploration of Europe’s cultural heritage even more exciting!

What is new?

One of the major improvements of the new portal is the expansion of its core functionalities to meet the needs of people browsing the web on the go. While the portal has previously been mobile-friendly, the new design is fully responsive and provides a significantly better experience for mobile searchers!

In addition to this, the sleeker and more modern design is intended to make the information search easier and faster than before. The nice new colour scheme reflects the vividness of the festival, while the restructured mega menu enables easier navigation and browsing. It also allows for featuring new themes and topics, which is particularly important as the European Heritage Days initiative develops new synergies with other European cultural projects.

“Virtual communities make an incredible difference for European Heritage Days and provide the opportunity to truly connect to the European stories of the communities that are so passionately involved with protection and promotion of European heritage. The EHD portal has always been a form of empowerment for them to continue building new relationships and share knowledge no matter where they are,” says Jelena Mocevic, European Heritage Days Programme Manager.

“It has given event organisers a space to reach wider audiences and expand the visibility of their initiatives, while enabling visitors to explore the diversity of events near them or find out more about the dynamic nature of European Heritage. By improving the experience for everyone, particularly on mobile devices, we hope to enable the European Heritage Days community to better capture and promote the spirit of diversity and richness that the festival promotes. The new functionalities of Open Calls and Heritage Events, as well as Heritage Initiatives will allow for anyone looking for information on European Heritage to connect with everything that is happening in the field. The contribution from our 70 000 communities truly makes the Portal a European e-heritage platform.”

With all the new improvements, the European Heritage Days portal is set to bring heritage closer to even a greater number of Europeans. Feel free to explore events, read latest news or subscribe to our newsletter below and become a part of this passionate community of millions!