2018 has been declared the European Year of Cultural Heritage. This initiative, launched by the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission, aims to promote the European cultural heritage, raising awareness among citizens about its value and importance and reinforcing the sentiment of belonging to the European area. Under the motto "our heritage, where the past meets the future", thousands of activities will be organised across Europe, with the involvement of key actors at local, national and international levels, in order to bring citizens closer to the richness of our heritage. In addition, long-term projects will be funded with a view to preserving and promoting our heritage.

In the framework of this initiative, the European Commission has awarded a label of excellence to different projects in the field. Among the selected ones, there are 5 Interreg Sudoe projects:

• LOCI IACOBI (2007-2013), 
• ODYSSEA (2007-2013), 
• SH CITY (2014-2020), 
• HERITAGE CARE (2014-2020) and,
• ENERPAT (2014-2020).

For more information about the European Year of Cultural Heritage: https://europa.eu/cultural-heritage/european-year-cultural-heritage_en