European values through heritage: formatted participation in the Council of Europe

Abstract

This article examines how the Council of Europe makes European values participatory through heritage governance, thereby contributing to debates on European value-making, institutional legitimacy and cultural governance. Focusing on the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society of 2005 (Faro Convention), European Heritage Days and Cultural Routes, the author develops the concept of formatted participation to analyse how participation becomes institutionally recognisable, transferable and governable. The article identifies three dimensions: community, which produces heritage actors; access, which enables public engagement; and mobility, which connects places, actors and narratives across borders. The author argues that democracy, cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and responsibility become actionable through heritage communities, annual themes, public events, networks, and certification procedures. However, these formats are ambivalent: they widen participation, while filtering which actors, ideas and practices can become legible as European value-making. The article demonstrates that European values are not only represented in heritage initiatives, but they are institutionalised through participatory forms that organise recognition, access and transnational connection.