​On 7 November, the European Committee of the Regions hosted a fascinating meeting looking at the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, with a particular focus on immovable heritage such as historical buildings and religious monuments and how these can be preserved and transformed for the modern use in the community while respecting their rich heritage values.

Opening the meeting, President of the EA Group and Member of the Flemish Parliament Karl Vanlouwe said that cultural heritage is not only at the heart of our European regions and identity but it also harbours numerous opportunities. "For the EA Group, the protection of cultural heritage and diversity remains a top priority. It is a place where our past, present and future meet.”

Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget, Housing and Cultural Heritage Matthias Diependaele gave a keynote speech in which he presented the work done in Flanders to repurpose and maintain the relevance of old heritage buildings with a focus on sustainability. “It was very enlightening to share experiences and best practices with other regions in Europe. Our heritage is something we need to treasure, but also prepare for new challenges like the current energy crisis. The adaptive reuse of our monuments is something we need to do with the support of our local communities but is also important to learn from our neighbouring regions what are successful projects with respect for our history,” the minister said.

Vice chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Petitions Ana Miranda gave the example of the promotion of heritage in her region of Galicia in particular through the activities in the historical town of Pontevedra.

Klaas Fokkinga, Regional Minister of the Province of Fryslân and EA group member outlined the situation in his region and added: "Our heritage largely determines the quality of our living environment, provides a rich source of inspiration for art and culture and thus contributes to broad prosperity." We could hear more about the activities of the provincial government of Fryslân also from Ms Hester Simons director of the Old Frisian Churches Foundation who gave an interesting account of the foundations work in giving a new life to old churches in the region by offering new content and activities adapted to younger generations.

The participants could also hear a thorough presentation of the planned activities and the overall strategic focus of Bastia, Corsica's candidacy to become the European Capital of Culture 2028 given by Mr Pierre Lungheretti, Commissioner General of the initiative.

European Commission's Marta Jiménez Pumares gave an overview of the policies and programmes of the Directorate General for Education and Culture aimed at supporting exchanges between cities and regions in fostering innovation for the protection of culture and cultural heritage.

EA group's first vice president and Committee of the Regions' rapporteur on the New European Bauhaus Kieran McCarthy presented the main proposals included in the CoR's recently-adopted opinion and outlined some ideas on how to harness the potential of this initiative in the protection and promotion of cultural heritage at the local and regional level.

Finally, another EA group vice president, Mr Dariusz Strugała, mayor of Jaraczewo, Poland talked about the renovation of cultural heritage buildings in rural areas of Poland, emphasising the restoration of the synagogue in Jaraczewo as an example of revitalisation of multicultural and multiconfessional heritage of the area.