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The new year has brought several fresh and exciting commitments to heritage young professionals across Europe and beyond. On 28 January, Europa Nostra, the European Heritage Tribune and the European Students’ Association for Cultural Heritage (ESACH) officially launched the European Heritage Youth Ambassadors Programme. The evening began with an inspiring introduction by Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, who reminded us of the huge progress that has already been achieved to foster the engagement of young people with cultural heritage. She went on to communicate the idea that ‘young people are not the future, they are the present!’, a wonderful sentiment through which to introduce our new young ambassadors. The Secretary General hopes that this new and exciting generation of young people will be able to carry the torch forth and help promote the building of a peaceful and harmonious Europe. This sentiment was continued by Herbert-Jan Hiep of the European Heritage Tribune, who shared with us the common goal of building bridges to help people better understand the world around them, to apprehend our differences but also to realise what binds us together.  At the launch event, the 11 new Ambassadors from 13 different countries were revealed and introduced. The programme is an opportunity to empower youth to share their perspectives and to help promote the green and digital transformations taking place in our society. By giving a voice to the youth of Europe and beyond, the programme seeks to encourage intergenerational exchange and capacity building. Ambassadors are provided with a platform to promote themselves and their professional profiles, a great opportunity to be part of a vast European network. In return, the ambassadors will promote the ethos of all 3 organisations by acting as the voice of young people in their respective countries. Each of the ambassador profiles can be found in greater detail here. The event was also significant in its official signing of the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ between Europa Nostra and ESACH by Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović and ESACH President Marius Müller. The signing signifies a partnership through which Europa Nostra and ESACH agree to support each other to provide heritage students and young professionals with meaningful opportunities, such as the Ambassador Programme. Not only will this partnership assist in the development of a young European movement for heritage, but it will also allow youth across Europe and beyond to build their networks and capacities within the field. The official agenda for the evening was followed by a ‘digital aperitivo’ during which each of the new Ambassadors could network, discuss their previous experiences and get to know those already involved with each of the organisations. Some ambassadors were lucky enough to be greeted by Uwe Koch, the German coordinator of the European Year of Cultural Heritage! It truly was an exciting evening with a lot of promise for the future of the programme and cultural heritage as a whole. As Europa Nostra’s Secretary General commented when speaking of our new ambassadors, ‘the future of heritage is bright and in good hands’. Missed the event? A full recording can now be viewed on ESACH’s YouTube Channel.
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