ERIH wins Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe "Best Practices Award 2022"
The closing ceremony of the 11th Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Advisory Forum in Chania/Crete came with a pleasant surprise for ERIH: the "Best Practices Award 2022" for its achievements in the field of industrial heritage in Europe. In the section "Protection of Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis", it was the pan-European dance event WORK it OUT that was particularly convincing the jury.
"Industrial heritage must appeal to the younger generation and the heirs of our culture," ERIH President Prof Dr Meinrad Maria Grewenig stated at the award ceremony hosted by Julien Vuilleumier from Switzerland, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe. Grewenig continued, "It is not enough for young people to understand the idea of industrial heritage, they have to feel and love it. To make this happen, stakeholders are obliged to do everything they can."
WORK it OUT puts this very demand into practice. On every European Heritage Day - most recently on 11 September 2022 - the dance event gathers young people at fascinating industrial heritage sites across Europe and makes them dance a pre-rehearsed choreography to hip-hop music composed specifically for this occasion. Livestream and social media provide real-time coverage of each dance performance. A competition features monetary awards for the dance groups achieving the highest number of likes.
Crucial for the "Best Practices Award 2022" was, among other things, that the dance event has been held annually since 2018 - even under the Covid 19 pandemic - and generated considerable response. Each year, participants included up to 40 industrial heritage sites from 9 to 15 European countries. At the heart of the event are the dancers, their performances garnering an audience of some thousand people and over much more likes.
ERIH dance event WORK it OUT