Amersfoort Agenda – Setting the agenda for the future of archaeological heritage management in Europe

More than two decades after the signing of the Valletta Convention, the European Archaeological Council considered it time to draw up a new agenda for how Europe should manage its archaeological heritage. With this purpose in mind, the EAC organised two symposiums that were attended by heritage managers from 25 European countries. At the first event in Saranda, Albania in 2013, the symposium looked back at twenty years of ‘Valletta’, identifying its benefits, problems and challenges. The second symposium was held in Amersfoort, the Netherlands in 2014, and took the form of a working conference. The results included the Amersfoort Agenda for managing the archaeological heritage in Europe. This agenda ties in with the ideas of the Council of Europe’s Faro Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (2005). A link is also made with the ideas of the European Union, as expressed in the Conclusions on Cultural Heritage adopted by the Council of the European Union (2014) and a Communication adopted by the European Commission (2014). The Agenda calls for an acknowledgement of the multiple values of archaeological heritage for society and recognises the potential role of archaeological heritage in sustainable development.

Also published within EAC Occasional paper no.10 (2015). Also available in French.