EYCH 2018

The European Year of Cultural Heritage (EYCH) 2018 offers a unique chance to showcase that religious heritage is not only a legacy from the past but also a resource for the future. Read the folder ‘Spotlight on the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018’.

Future for Religious Heritage (FRH) carried out the following activities directly related to the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018:

A 3-day European conference in Paris on October 11-12-13 alongside French member and partner, La Sauvegarde de l’Art Français.

The Torch of Heritage and Culture initiative, which travels around Europe collecting stories and memories.


The FRH Photowalk 2018, which took place simultaneously in three European cities: Paris (France), Asti (Italy) and Middelburg (The Netherlands).

The FRH Photo Competition, which received submissions from around the world, and presented the winners at the Photo Competition Awards Ceremony during at the #FRHParis2018

The Private Heritage Week, a Europe-wide initiative organised by the European Historic Houses Association in partnership with FRH.

Picture by Matthias Ripp

Olivier de Rohan Chabot, President of La Sauvegarde and Chairman of Future for Religious Heritage welcomed experts, FRH members and leading sector stakeholders from across Europe.

The European Commissioner for Culture and European Parliamentarians took the floor at the conference, which discussed important themes and questions concerning the future of Europe’s heritage.

The conference examined the different dimensions of Religious Heritage and reflect on what are its contributions to Europe from an economic, social, cultural, environmental and tourism perspective.

Delegates debated the themes of ownership and to whom does religious heritage in Europe belong, especially considering the value of architectural buildings, mobile heritage, sacred art, etc.

As European society becomes more secular the conference looked at the alternative and extended uses that can be discovered for our ancient European heritage. What is Europe’s shared experience?

Participants analysed whether public and religious bodies are playing their roles effectively to safeguard the religious heritage sector across Europe. They presented successful national and European examples of religious and cultural heritage.