OurIdentity

Cultural Heritage represents the cultural roots of the Identity of a population like in a tree the branches, the flowers, the fruits stand up and draw their lymph from the roots. Cultural Heritage defines the diversity existing among our populations. Cultural Heritage helps to fight against cultural poverty, which represents a large part of poverty nowadays and poverty should be defined as a lack of knowledge and education, lack of cultural opportunities. This Project studies in detail how our common European Cultural Heritage may influence cohesion among the European citizens of the 28 countries of the EU. Our common Cultural Heritage may increase or restore cohesion, giving a "sense of pride" of being members of the EU, evolving to European Identity. The proposed actions concern specifically communication media, public instruction Institutions, and city managers. i - The effects of Mass Media on European cohesion: how Cultural Heritage interacts and might better interact with a better cohesion feeling among EU citizens. ii - The effects of urban scenarios: how historical buildings, squares, and any other architectural objects influence the life of EU citizens. iii -The effects of Europeanization: the emergence of a "sense of pride" in second and third generation migrants for feeling themselves true citizens of the European Union. European integration is not only an economic and political process, but a socio-cultural process. The creation of a European collective identity seemed to be a challenge from the beginning of the Union. The theory that Europe could fail because of a "lack of mythology" keeps referring us back to the efforts of European institutions that aimed at creating a European identity. The European Union should not only be seen as a politically and rationally organized group of nations. The European project needs also an emotional foundation, a shared sense of community and cohesion.