Building European Identity

Europeanization and building European identity

Question of building European identity is frequent in academic literature over past decade, but scientific literature still discuss Europe as a collection of institutional solutions and practices, rather than common cultural space. Dominant paradigm of the discussion about European identity is one that European identity is seen, first of all, as a purely political. In order to discuss further process of enlargement of European Union as well as Europeanization of Western Balkan countries, and the cultural institution role in it, in this case museums, firstly I would need to define European identity, or better identity of European Union.

European Union is a unique political project, and process

One of the museum’s basic tasks, as a cultural institution serving society, is communication and interaction with the visitors, as well and maybe most important their education. When we say education, we mean stressing out the importance the museum and the preservation of the cultural identity of all nations who live on the same territory. Having that in mind the fact that the region of South Eastern Europe, with emphasis on Western Balkans, we know that it is almost impossible to examine the cultural identity of one nation alone. In that sense, museums from this region should take a leading role in the process of establishment of a cultural dialogue between the different cultural communities that exists in this region. The cultural and national differences are often viewed with negative connotation, the role of museums should be focusing on fostering the unity amid these differences. Such action would point out that cultural diversity should be regarded as the wealth of every community, and not as a defect, and that would as well aligned with more democratic approach of the institution in promoting that diversity as it is advocated by the European

These policies are especially important for defining the museum role in the process of integration, if you consider them as an institution of the national importance. One of the project that emphasize that is European initiative “European Heritage Days”. This project is a joint initiative action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission which brings together all signatory states of European Cultural Convention. The merit of European Heritage Days lies in the fact that over the past 25 years they have made the public interested in understanding the pan-European picture of their cultural heritage. It is i project that is connecting cultures, religions and the people that make Europe, and uses heritage as a tool for better mutual understanding between people from all backgrounds as it bridges differences and contributes to the great social cohesion. Cultural heritage in this sense helps people to undersand better complexity and continuity of the history. Cultural heritage tells not only about the past, but as well its present and the future. The objects and the locations are not important only by themselves, they are important because of their meanings and usage that we attribute to them as well as the values of cultural heritage they