Heritage Day

Each edition has a theme: "Objects and People" (2018), "Guardians of Memory" (2021), "From Site to Museum" (2023), "Ask where it comes from" (2024). The theme serves as a common thread for events, communication materials and teaching resources.

It is chosen by a committee of Member States, after consulting civil society. It highlights one aspect of heritage protection: provenance, youth, communities, digital, restitution.

Museums organise guided visits, free evenings and presentations of restituted works. Archaeological sites open their excavation sites and restoration workshops. Schools put on exhibitions, performances, competitions.

Market operators open their salerooms and galleries, present their provenance practices and invite the public to ask questions. Customs and police services present their missions through exhibitions and presentations.

Any institution, association or local authority may organise an event and declare it on OIMAP's website. It receives a kit comprising the poster, the logo, suggested activities, a communication guide and a review questionnaire.

OIMAP puts organisers in touch: a museum may host facilitators from another region, a site may invite a speaker. The most innovative events receive a mention at the national ceremony.

Heritage Day succeeds first through its simplicity: one day, one theme, open doors. It reaches people who never enter a museum or a saleroom, and shows the human face of protection work.

Satisfaction surveys indicate that 82% of visitors leave with a better understanding of heritage, and 61% say they will be more attentive to the provenance of what they buy.