Introduction
The value of heritage (the built and historic environment), is widely recognized as an asset which can be utilized to enhance social integration within communities, and to promote a sense of civic pride and identity through developing a better understanding of the environment in which people live. The heritage environment has been extensively used in this way in the UK to successfully develop community inclusive projects to build community cohesion. There is a recognized lack of this expertise in recently Integrated and Accession countries, despite those areas having a wealth of heritage sites of European significance. The purpose of this project is to provide a mechanism for the transfer of know-how based on the UK experience; for the mechanism to be tested and the results evaluated through the implementation of a Pilot Project at Bánffy Castle, Bontida, Romania, and to be easily transferable to other countries as a potential model for promoting social integration through the historic environment.

Activities
Three principal focal activities will combine to form the structure of the proposed Project, through which a series of related activities will be fostered. The principal activities will be:

1. To develop a package of data, and information as guidelines of how the built heritage of European significance can be used to influence social integration and citizenship, through the creation of a database of heritage sites and projects involving heritage at a European level related to regeneration through conservation.

Within the UK the historic environment has been widely used, through many diverse initiatives to influence community development, to help build community cohesion, reduce social exclusion, engender pride of place, and raise community expectations and educational attainment. It is proposed to utilise that experience, knowledge and expertise to examine how that can be transferred to the wider European context, and through this to develop Guidelines which can be applied to important sites of European significance to ensure that the development of such sites presents a mutual benefit for the development of its host community.
To assess the particularities of Bánffy Castle, Bontida, and the rural region surrounding it, a study will be undertaken to help test the guidelines on this region.

2. To test the accessibility and the usage of the Guidelines through the implementation of a pilot project in a candidate country, Romania, at Bánffy Castle, Bontida

The site chosen for implementing the pilot project of the Guidelines and of the Study is Bánffy Castle, Bontida, Romania. The particularities of this site are:

• Its location in a rural area with low development potential, having several minorities (as well as the Romanian population, there is a significant number of Hungarian and Rroma)
  Bánffy castle, Bontida is a listed historic building of European significance
• The castle has been already partially restored and included in a European professional circuit through the Culture 2000 programme
• The Pilot Project will seek to develop social cohesion and citizenship through the implementation of a number of initiatives for community benefit under the umbrella of the Built Heritage

Conservation Training Centre at Bánffy Castle. These will be implemented and monitored as a case study in social development, and will involve a number of initiatives:

• The provision of a Cultural Community Hall as well as setting up other cultural facilities within the castle for the use of the community
• The proposed areas are located within the former court d`honneur, entrance gate and main building to the castle.
• Working with local and regional schools in developing Educational Packs for children.
• Organising local cultural events, to help the social cohesion of the region.
• Monitoring and evaluation of the results of the pilot project and the integration of the gathered data in the package of the Guidelines

3. Dissemination of the gathered data and of the results of the pilot project, completing a collating the package of information and training, so that it can be used for further developments of Eastern European heritage in social integration.

Presentations at different occasions and places, such as Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) Annual Conference in Britain: and to international conferences in Bucharest and Budapest, and the British Council’s Western European and American headquarters in Brussels.
Organising workshops and training sessions for professionals from specialist institutions in France, Ukraine and the Czech Republic.
Workshops with universities from South Eastern Europe and other key institutions to train the students in built heritage restoration and its implications on host communities in order to achieve community involvement for social development for the benefit of a larger region.

Sponsor: European Union, Culture 2000