Chair: Eugen SCHERER, Austria)
The topic of financing projects of cultural heritage was included into the yearly archaeological Conferences of the City of Vienna for a special purpose.
The Working Community of Danube Regions and the Assembly of European Regions are dedicating their energies among others to the restoration of its member-regions’ rich cultural heritage as an instrument of regional development beside its undisputedly independent historical and artistic value.
An endeavour of this nature requires the concerted efforts of more than one professional area, starting with the scientific and artistic domain. It is for example the experience of the tourism-branch of economy, that can give most valuable basic information on the feasibility of any national or regional investment following the scientific work. Furthermore, as well in any new project the factor of starting – errors should be calculated and how they can be avoided in order to ensure a maximum of economical procedure.
This is, where the exchange of Know-How is advisable, also to convince opinion-leaders and politicians on all levels of the conrete social value of human sciences. Financing projects for the preservation and soft touristical use of objects of cultural heritage needs to be based from start on a complex system of analyses aimed at finding favorising parameters. Among those the existence of a functioning infrastructure such as roads and services for the consumer is as decisive as state of the art of historical content (attractive “story“). Adding gastronomical and touristical infrastructure, all backed by a successful marketing and advertising is another step. Further preconditions for sensible entrepreneurship such as risk-assessment, lie ahead of any culture-based investment, particularly in the new and future member-countries of the European Union, where the politically responsible have to compete with urgent investments into basic communal services. All this requires substantial know-how on the side of the scientific community about the financial resources within and l outside their own countries, such as the funding instruments of the European Union, the European Council and others.