The Council of Europe is delighted to be hosting, on 6 December 2010, the diploma award ceremony for the 15th International Heritage Photographic Experience (IHPE).
Organised by the Government of Catalonia and the Museu d’Història de Catalunya, in Spain, the Experience is supported by a network of teachers with special dedication and concern for passing on an interest, and perhaps indeed a passion for heritage and landscape to the young generations. The numbers are impressive: more than 240,000 young people from 60 countries in four continents have contributed to the IHPE during the last fifteen years.
This network, which is focused on secondary-school students and extends throughout Europe and into other continents, can trace its origin to the European Heritage Days (EHD) organised by the Council of Europe. It is the result of the extraordinary work carried out over many years by its Coordinator, Mr Esteve Mach Bosch in association with the Council of Europe and the support of its sponsors, and we would like to take advantage of this opportunity to thank him for his commitment to promoting the values of the Council of Europe and to congratulate him for the success which the IHPE has achieved.
The International Heritage Photographic Experience seeks to open young people’s eyes to the value of the culture and landscape that surround them, and thus make them aware of the three Council of Europe conventions relating to cultural and architectural heritage (Granada Convention, 1985), archaeological heritage (Valetta Convention, 1992) and the values of the cultural heritage for society (Faro Framework Convention, 2005).
The IHPE encourages young people to understand a historic building, not just in isolation, but in the context of its site and the landscape in which it stands, and thus to discover the European Landscape Convention (Florence, 2000).
Several recommendations by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe have already stressed the importance to be attached to “heritage education”, to “landscape education” and, more generally, as mentioned in the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Spatial Development of the European continent, the “participation of young generations in the process of planning” the territory (Recommendations No. R (98) 5, (2002) 1 and CM/Rec(2008)3.
Considering that today’s youth are tomorrow’s adults, both actors and decision makers of tomorrow, the Council of Europe intends to continue to support initiatives that encourage them to discover the rich heritage and landscape around us and that develop educational tools to promote education for sustainable territorial development respectful of these values.
We would like once again to congratulate all the students and teachers who contributed to this, the 15th IHPE. Blending art and teaching, the Experience contributes through this fun approach to intercultural dialogue and friendly engagement between tomorrow’s citizens.
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