2018 is the European Year of Cultural Heritage (EYCH). By means of this special year, we would like to carry out this project to increase the importance of art and cultural education at schools, to draw attention to cultural heritage that brings communities together. The aim of the European Year of Cultural Heritage is to encourage the sharing of Europe's cultural heritage, to raise awareness of our common history, values and to reinforce a sense of belonging in a common European space, to raise awareness of the social and economic importance of cultural heritage, to reach out to the widest possible audience, in particular children and young people, local communities and people who are rarely in touch with culture, to promote a common sense of ownership. The European Year of Cultural Heritage will put the spotlight on Europe's wealth of cultural heritage, showcasing its role in fostering a shared sense of identity and building the future of Europe.

Nowadays the role of art and cultural education in forming the basic skills and key competences for young people for life in the 21 st century has been widely recognised at the European level. The most important thing in art and cultural education should be that learning, preserving and transvering art and cultural heritage from one generation to the next. The European Commission proposed a European Agenda for art and culture which was endorsed by the Council of the European Union in 2007. This Agenda acknowledges the value of arts and cultural education in developing skills to prepare young people for citizenship and the global workforce of 21 st century. International organisations like UNESCO and Heritage Crafts Association, have also shown an increasing interest to arts and cultural education in recent years.

Cultural heritage became an EU priority with the European Agenda for Culture in 2007. Through cherishing our cultural heritage, we can discover our diversity and start an intercultural conversation about what we have in common. The theme of cultural heritage will offer an amazing opportunity to teachers and students to create unique learning experiences that will put in use intercultural education practices with the goal to support and strengthen European cooperation through doing activities on music, art. poetry, dance, drama, literature, food, clothes...Our cultural heritage is more than the memory of our past; it is the key to our future. Cultural heritage has a universal value for us as individuals, communities and societies. It is important to preserve and pass on to future generations. That is one reason why we want to reach out to young people in particular during the European Year with this Erasmus+ K229 project. With the art and cultural activities of this project, we will have a wonderful opportunity to encourage people, especially young people, to explore Europe's rich cultural diversity, to increase the interest of art and culture education at schools.