Excellence in Science
UN IVE R S IT Y OF J YVÄ S KYL Ä
4
WHAT BELONGS TO EUROPE’S CULTURAL HERITAGE? In her research, Tuuli Lähdesmäki examines the EU’s recently launched cultural heritage projects. While facing one crisis after another, the EU aims at fostering and producing a common European identity with the help of the projects. Lähdesmäki clarifies how European cultural heritage is produced and what kinds of policies are involved. It is hard to imagine a more topical research subject. Docent Tuuli Lähdesmäki examines how the European Union produces cultural heritage as part of its identity and integration policy. A recent example of interest in the EU’s cultural heritage is the European Heritage Label. Similar to the Unesco World Heritage Sites, the project selects and names European cultural heritage sites. - It is not a coincidence that the EU is now putting a strong effort on creating cultural identity and is interested in the stories of Europeanness. Through cultural heritage, the purpose is to create a sense of togetherness and an idea that we have a common past and, as a result, common values that are worth fostering. The goal to create a common cultural heritage is understandable when looking at the situation of the EU: the