NEMO part of securing Erasmus+ funding for CHARTER

© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Gemaeldegalerie, Image: D. von Becker Bird perspective of someone doing restoration work on an icon painting.

© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Gemaeldegalerie, Image: D. von Becker

Together with 27 other organisations, NEMO applied to the funding strand SECTOR SKILLS ALLIANCES (Blueprint Cultural Heritage) within the EU funding programme Erasmus +. The consortium was successful and the project “Cultural Heritage Actions to Refine Training, Education and Roles (CHARTER)” will begin in 2021.

The purpose of the blueprint is to address skills shortages and unemployment in the heritage sector by: 

  • gathering information for the European skills panorama 
  • developing a sector skills strategy 
  • developing occupational profiles, vocational programmes and qualifications 
  • designing a long-term action plan to be rolled out at the national and regional levels 
  • promoting the use of EU tools (for example a European training framework)

CHARTER aims to build the first ever methodology enabling the heritage sector to assess, design and produce a holistically integrated sectorial skills strategy. In the course of the project, a road map that will help lead the sector to a sectorial strategic prototype (a master plan for the sector, hence the name “Blueprint”) will be created. The Blueprint project concentrates on the core requirements of competences across the cultural heritage professions. In addition, major areas of skills deficits will be addressed; climate-related and circular economy-related cultural heritage skills (green and blue economy) and digital / technological cultural heritage-related skills. For instance by upskilling existing practitioners, mediators as well as integrating modules into the curricula of current and future practitioners.

Consortium members

Education sector

  1. University of Barcelona, Spain
  2. University of Gothenburg, Sweden
  3. Fondazione Scuola dei beni e delle attività culturali,  Italy
  4. Università degli studi di Genova, Italy
  5. Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien, Austria
  6. Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  7. Université Sorbonne Paris 13 Nord, France

Umbrella organisations

  1. ENCATC, Belgium
  2. E.C.C.O., Belgium
  3. Verband der Restauratoren e.V., Germany
  4. ERRIN, Belgium
  5. NEMO (Deutscher Museumsbund), Germany
  6. Finnish Heritage Agency, Finland
  7. European Historic Houses aisbl, Belgium
  8. ICOMOS, France
  9. FARO. Vlaams steunpunt voor cultureel erfgoed, Belgium
  10. Kultur und Arbeit, Germany
  11. Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, Italy

Industry and Policy

  1. Dep. of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Ireland
  2. An Chomhairle Oidhreachta - The Heritage Council, Ireland
  3. Institute of Cultural Heritage, Slovenia
  4. Romanian National Heritage Institute, Romania
  5. Nacionālā kultūras mantojuma pārvalde, Latvia

Regional Government Agency

  1. ADRAL – Alentejo Regional Development Agency, Portugal
  2. Basque Government, Spain
  3. Freie Hansestadt Bremen, Germany
  4. Regione Toscana, Italy
  5. Västra Götalands Läns Landsting, Sweden

The four-year project CHARTER will receive close to 4.000.000 Euro.

NEMO’s role in the project:

  • Contribution to the strategic analysis of Cultural Heritage (CH) competences and occupational professional profiles at EU level
  • Designing policy recommendations for CH education/training needs at EU level
  • Communication and Dissemination
  • Sustainability