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Welcome to the September newsletter!

As we officially leave summer behind and start the new season, we bring you a newsletter full of new initiatives and opportunities to explore and do your bit to protect our precious European religious heritage.

This month's featured article presents the "Ziltepad", a new walking and cycling route designed to breathe new life into the little-known Frisian churches of the Wadden Sea region in the Netherlands.

Another important initiative comes from France, where a national initiative has been launched to protect the country's more than 100,000 churches and the 300,000 classified religious objects they house. FRH was at the presentation of the initiative to find out all the details.

If you are looking to connect more closely to our network, remember that there's only one week left for our two-day FRH Masterclass on why and how to reconstruct religious heritage buildings with renowned experts from all over Europe. Hurry up if you haven't registered yet!

Other items you should definitely check out in this issue are the 4th Architectures of the Soul Conference, the open call for the Religious Heritage Innovator of the Year 2023, and the FRH Photo Competition 2023.

In this month's European news section you can meet the new Commissioner for Culture, Iliana Ivanova; discover the Pop the Vote initiative to train artists and cultural workers in "artivism"; take note of the dates for Creative Skills Week and the New European Bauhaus Festival 2024; and nominate a threatened cultural heritage sites for the 7 Most Endangered 2024.

Finally, we invite you to discover 5 famous cemeteries in Europe in our Religiana section. Did you already know them?

See you next month!


Jordi Mallarach
FRH Executive Officer
FEATURED ARTICLE
"ZILTEPAD, A UNIQUE WALKING AND CYCLING ROUTE ALONG THE RELIGIOUS HERITAGE OF THE WADDEN SEA", BY LISA SWAVING
The Wadden Sea coast in the Netherlands is home to numerous Frisian churches that a new tourist route aims to revitalise from 2024 onwards. The so-called Ziltepad (Salt Route) proposes a cultural itinerary on foot or by bike to discover the rich religious heritage of this Dutch region. The initiative has been launched by FRH members Groningen Kerken and the Alde Fryske Tsjerken Foundation and aims to keep these churches alive by organising regular events and attracting more visitors to the churches. The first volunteers to test the new route, which is in its pilot phase, will start their tour in September and October. In the meantime, here's a sneak preview of the Ziltepad READ MORE >>
FRH & MEMBER NEWS
ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT FOR OUR MASTERCLASS ON WHY AND HOW TO RECONSTRUCT RELIGIOUS HERITAGE 
The upcoming masterclass "Reconstruction of religious buildings in 20th and 21st century Europe: monuments, heritage and identity" will take place on 25 and 26 September 2023 in a hybrid format. This 2-day masterclass will explore the burning question of why and how to rebuild destroyed religious heritage buildings and monuments with leading experts such as Mathieu Lours (CY Cergy University Paris) who will provide invaluable context to the debate. The keynote presentation will be by Nazar Kozar (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and will focus on the reconstruction of Ukraine's medieval churches. The programme is now available online. Don't miss this opportunity to join this timely debate and connect with a wide network of religious heritage professionals. READ MORE >>
FRANCE LAUNCHES A MAJOR NATIONAL INITIATIVE TO PROTECT ITS RELIGIOUS HERITAGE, WHICH INCLUDES OVER 100,000
The Conference of Bishops of France (CEF) has officially launched the États généraux du Patrimoine religieux (General State of Religious Heritage), a process that aims to comprehensively address the state of religious heritage in France and make recommendations on the way forward to ensure its future. The initiative will be implemented in three phases between September 2023 and December 2024 and includes the release of a national survey about the state of religious heritage, regular meetings with qualified experts to address the current challenges, and the creation of a guide of good practices for owners and tenants of religious buildings. FRH was present at the launch event that took place on 12 September 2023 in St Martin's Church in Bonnesvalyn. READ MORE >>
RELIGIANA EXPANDS ITS RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS DATABASE WITH TWO NEW PARTNERS
The European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF) and Straße der Moderne have recently partnered with Religiana to showcase their religious heritage sites on the platform. Religiana is an online database run by FRH that provides visitors with useful information on almost 9,000 religious buildings and sites in Europe. Do you own or manage religious buildings in Europe? Get in touch with our team to know how to become a partner. READ MORE >>
SEND YOUR PHOTO TO THE FRH PHOTO COMPETITION 2023!
Do you have a passion for photography and cultural heritage? Send your pictures of religious buildings, artefacts or events to the FRH Photo Competition 2023 and win a chance to be featured across Europe.  READ MORE >>
REGISTER NOW FOR THE "ARCHITECTURES OF THE SOUL" CONFERENCE (DISCOUNT FOR FRH MEMBERS UNTIL 30 SEPTEMBER)
Registrations for the 4th international conference "Architectures of the Soul" are open! The conference will take place on 19, 20 and 21 October in the Monastery of Batalha, Portugal, and will look into the future of religious heritage with a panel of experts that includes the chair of the FRH Scientific Committee, Henrik Lindblad. If you are a member of FRH the registration fee is just 10€. Save your spot before 30 September!  READ MORE >>
FRH IS LOOKING FOR ITS RELIGIOUS HERITAGE INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR 2023
The Religious Heritage Innovator of the Year award is an FRH initiative to recognise projects with a significant impact on the safeguarding, enhancement and/or promotion of Europe’s places of worship. Do you have a project or initiative like this? Apply before 30 November and get a chance to be featured across Europe!
 READ MORE >>
BECOME A MEMBER
MEMBERS ONLY
EVENTS

THIS SECTION IS FOR MEMBERS ONLY. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BECOMING A MEMBER, MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE. READ MORE >>

FRH EVENTS
>25-26 September - FRH Masterclass: Reconstruction of religious buildings in 20th and 21st century Europe: monuments, heritage, identity. Register now>>
>19 October - Annual General Meeting (members only). More info coming soon.
>19-21 October - 4th International Conference "Architectures of the Soul" in Portugal (supported by FRH) Register now>>
>4-5 December - Face-to-face meeting for FRH members in Naumburg, Germany. More information >>


DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT UPCOMING EVENTS?
MORE EVENTS>> 
EU NEWS
THE EU PARLIAMENT CONFIRMS ILIANA IVANOVA AS THE NEW COMMISSIONER FOR INNOVATION, RESEARCH, CULTURE, EDUCATION AND YOUTH
After Mariya Gabriel's resignment as EU Commissioner, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, appointed Iliana Ivanova (also Bulgarian) as the new Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. The European Parliament confirmed this appointment on 5 September with 522 votes in favour, 27 against and 51 abstentions. READ MORE >>
#POPTHEVOTE LAUNCHES OPEN CALL FOR CHANGEMAKERS
52 Changemakers across 14 EU countries will be selected to participate in the Changemakers’ Playground Camp, a one-week training programme hosted in Belgium from 10-16 February 2024. The programme will include an immersive training on artivism, campaigning and the use of artistic expression as a political language. Also during the camp, Changemakers will spend a day in Brussels learning firsthand about the European Union, its institutions and the European Parliamentary elections. By the end of the Playground Camp in Belgium, Changemakers will have designed a blueprint to carry out two events in their respective countries. READ MORE >>
DEADLINE EXTENDED FOR THE SEVEN MOST ENDANGERED 2024 NOMINATIONS
The call for nominations for the 2024 edition of the 7 Most Endangered programme has been extended. This programme run by Europa Nostra with the support of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank aims to give visibility to endangered cultural sites in Europe and rally support to save them. The 2024 edition will have a special focus on sites threatened by climate change and conflict or post-conflict environments. If you know of any site at risk, send your nomination before 30 September 2023. READ MORE >>
REGISTER FOR THE CREATIVE SKILLS WEEK IN VIENNA
The Creative Skills Weeks 2023 is an initiative by the Creative Pact for Skills Manifesto to bring together strategic thinkers, policymakers, cultural workers and networks, creative and artistic practitioners from Cultural and Creative Sectors Industries (CCSI) to address the issue of skill gaps and future skills in the sector. The event can be followed online or in person from 10-13 October in Vienna, Austria. Join the debate and help co-create a new approach to re-skilling and up-skilling in the cultural and creative industries! READ MORE >>
TWO WEEKS LEFT TO PROPOSE EVENTS FOR THE NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS FESTIVAL 2024
The New European Bauhaus Festival will be back from 17 to 21 April 2024 with activities in Brussels and across Europe. This initiative, which celebrates its second edition in 2024, aims to bring people together to reflect on how we can shape a more sustainable, inclusive and beautiful future. Organisations are invited to submit their ideas for activities, which must be in line with the values pursued by the NEB initiative. The deadline is 30 September. Send your proposal now! READ MORE >>
THIS MONTH ON RELIGIANA
GO TO RELIGIANA
FRH is an independent, non-faith, not-for-profit organisation working to promote religious heritage buildings and their contents across Europe. It currently has more than 80 full members and 120 associate members from over 35 countries.
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