Cultural Heritage Identity Card

At the early 21st century European society is facing an overwhelming number of challenges: demography changes, climate change, globalization and the gloomy perspectives of declining natural resources. The new key for development is sustainability, which is transforming industry and society from resources-based into knowledge-based. Following recent and forthcoming enlargement of the European Union, the need for strengthening collaborative efforts on the protection of our common European cultural heritage is now greater than ever.  Cultural heritage as a fundamental base of a collective memory is thus an essential tool to reach a new dimension of society (culture), based on three pillars of sustainability: environmental, societal and economic. Nevertheless, cultural heritage is also the basic asset on which tourism is built.
European and Mediterranean geographic area is under different influences of environmental impacts. The southern half is located on the earthquake prone area, while the northern part is more endangered by floods and winds. But buildings in all parts of Europe are exposed to slow deteriorative processes induced by the environmental agents. Therefore, heritage buildings and assets are endangered by slow and constant environmental impact as well as by sudden impacts caused by natural and man-initiated actions.

Aim of the EU CHIC project is to develop a strategy and select most efficient methods and tools for harmonization of criteria and indicators to be addressed for tracking environmental changes of tangible cultural heritage assets, buildings and monuments, including "natural" deterioration processes and human interventions. Final achievement of the EU CHIC project, after further dissemination activities, will provide new procedures for cultural heritage conservation and harmonization of criteria for future adaptation of heritage to new requirements. This important issue, involving common policies, should be faced at European level.

EU CHIC as a support action developed with a totally novel approach, will aim at contributing to preparation of future Community research and technological development that should be established at the European level and will benefit from synergies created from the collaboration between European partnerships.