What is the unique value of the new European Democracy Sites distinction?

Being awarded the European Democracy Sites distinction will support the visibility of a historical site and its efforts to connect with other historical sites and educational institutions. The newly created network will help developing joint programming and exchanging materials and resources. Our intention with this distinction is to create new powerful synergy projects on the level of democracy education and help establishing innovative channels and networks.

What actions does it support? 

•    creating awareness on the specific historical site, its mandate and existing activities around European democracy education
•    informing a global audience on the role of a site and its surrounding community within the context of the European narrative
•    building up and providing a network to the sites and their communities to link them to each other on a more sustained basis for joint educational programming and knowledge exchange
•    highlighting their importance for European democracy, and for local communities, and their educational institutions.

What is the purpose of the European Democracy Sites award? 

Over the last few years we have identified the strong wish within the pro-European democracy education field to connect internationally and work together in order to find partners for their projects, receive adequate feedback on their work, or develop an international audience. This goes in line with the fact that many historical sites, national or transnational sites, tangible or intangible sites, are situated in locations with limited accessibility and opportunity to connect and link their projects to other sites within the European Union. It is challenging for these sites to have sufficient contacts, communication channels, and networks to connect with other sites or audiences. Or they simply may not be aware of other existing sites. With this distinction we are helping to close this gap.

Background to the European Democracy Sites distinction 

The goal of the distinction is to award and honour sites across the member states of the European Union, which were of vital significance to the history and development of European democracy. 

What is the definition of a European democracy site? 

The concept “sites” means tangible places, such as monuments and places of remembrance, as well as intangible goods associated with a specific event or a person. Tangible sites should be accessible to the public. As for to their location and reach, “sites” may be national, concerning only one member state of the European Union, or transnational. The term “transnational” defines a site with historical significance in more than one state or of prime importance for the continent as a whole regardless of the member state in which it is located.

•    The definition of “transnational site” may also refer to sites located on the territory of at least two member states with a common thematic or historical link to each other.

What are the objectives of this new distinction awarded by the European Parliament?

 
•    Strengthening European Union’s  citizens’ sense of commitment to the principles of democracy and unity
•    Underscoring the connections between the advancement of European unity and the advancement of democracy in Europe 
•    Fostering peace, solidarity, equality, and cross-continent understanding
•    Giving visibility and recognition to the sites (and to the historic individuals and groupings related to them) which have highly contributed to the creation of bonds among Europeans
•    Increasing European Union’s citizens’ understanding of the history of Europe and the building of European unity

Selection process

The European Democracy Sites distinction is open to all sites within the member states of the European Union.

The selection process follows a pre-selection phase of nomination, followed by the final selection process.

For the pre-selection phase, the Academic Committee of the House of European History takes care of scouting, collecting, and reviewing sites for nomination. The Academic Committee consists of a pool of international independent experts.

The nomination process is carried out by independent experts of the House of European History’s Academic Committee. A designated Advisory Panel serves as jury in charge of the final selection process of sites.

Academic Committee of the House of European History

Advisory Panel, European Democracy Sites

In more concrete terms, the Committee is in charge of identifying and proposing the most suitable sites. These sites shall comply with the criteria set out in the guidelines and which contribute to the objectives of this distinction.
Results will be announced on the dedicated webpage and social media channels of the House of European History. Selected sites will be contacted by the European Parliament. The decision on the selection of the sites will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Procedures in respect to transnational sites follow the same procedure as those for national sites. One site will serve as the contact point for the European Parliament’s communication activities. Next to national sites, the selection and nomination of transnational sites is particularly encouraged, i.e. sites located in at least two member states and linked by a common thematic or historical connection.
When a transnational site is selected, the award will be given to the transnational site as a whole and under the common name.

There are several prizes awarded by European institutions. The most prominent examples are:

• Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought
• LUX European Audience Film Award
• European Heritage Label
• European Charlemagne Youth Prize
• European Cultural Routes

All past online events are accessible via the House of European History’s YouTube channel.

All general requests can be submitted using the dedicated Contact Form.

There is a dedicated email to be used for requests.

In order to better plan your trip to the House of European History, consult the Visit page. Also, download the "Practical Information for Groups" document on the Learn page.

For the time being, some resources for the visits are for the time being in the languages spoken by the visitors we expect in the highest numbers due to the museum's geographical situation: French, Dutch, German and English. We have made every effort to provide a learning offer in as many languages as possible and we will continue to implement multilingualism as a reflection of Europe's linguistic and cultural diversity.

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