“ECHOES-European Cultural Heritage: Opportunities for citizens’ Engagement and Social Inclusion” is a Network of 18 partners from 13 EU Countries + AL,RS and FYROM, which stems from the belief that the creation of a Community Cultural System (CCS) can assure a fruitful and stable cooperation between Local Authorities and CSOs from the Cultural and Social Sectors, working together for social inclusion of migrants, Roma, mentally or phisically disabled people, Neets and vulnerable groups in general, through the valorization of the Cultural Heritage.
About 300 direct participants from 5 LAs, 1 National Association of LAs, 1 Chamber of Commerce, 1 non formal Training Provider, 1 Local Action Group and 9 NGOs from the social and cultural sectors will take part to the 6 International Meetings planned.
An initial research on the impact the “2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage” had on each partner community will be carried out by every organization, whose role will be also to organize 2 Community Activities, for involving the hard-to-reach groups and citizens, non usually involved in Insititutions/NGOs, in the debate about the future of Europe and its Social and Cultural Policies (by using the Street Debate and other non-formal methodologies).
“My Culture, My Europe, My Future” will be the campaign the partnership will implement for giving its disadvantaged citizens the opportunity to have their say at local and EU level about their vision of the Future of Europe from two points of view: Social Inclusion and Cultural Heritage. The results of the 2 initiatives of this campaign (“European Cultural Heritage-tell your story!” and the “Europe, Heritage ,Start up!” contest), will be collected and will flow into the Final Recommendation to be addressed to
the relevant EU and local decision makers.
The Dissemination plan together with the working methods will assure ECHOES a wide impact and will affect more than 50.000 indirect participants. The project formally starts the 1April 2019 and end the 31March 2021.
