Istanbul to host European cultural heritage summit

Europa Nostra, Europe's leading federation of NGOs working on cultural heritage will hold a summit in Istanbul between June 8-13, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday.

Europa Nostra's volunteer director Orhan Silier said at a press conference on Wednesday that the summit will convene several meetings at various locations in Istanbul including Tophane-i Amire, Yildiz Palace, Dolmabahce Palace and Kadir Has University in an effort to highlight the city's cultural heritage.

Silier said that Europa Nostra developed campaigns to protect the cultural heritage sites at risk and to raise public awareness on such matter. The gathering would bring together the NGOs carrying out activities on Turkey's cultural heritage.

Europa Nostra is a federation for cultural heritage, founded in 1963. Since its establishment, the federation has built a network of more than 400 member and associate organizations from all over Europe, which represent millions of citizens supporting or working for heritage as volunteers and professionals.