EACD European Tour for stonemasons and sculptors

started under the patronage of the EU Commissioner responsible for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism.

Official greetings

The conservation of our cultural heritage is a central concern of the European Cultural and Educational Policy because it underlines the roots of cohabiting in Europe, our similarities and our cultural diversities. It contributes therefore intrinsically to the appreciation of the European nations. Indeed, it is the heritage of all Europeans which needs to be conserved.

The traditional handcrafts in Europe have developed a staggering expertise for the conservation of our heritage. The EACD made the patronization of these high quality standards to its business. Another objective of the EACD is the exchange of know-how between its members. Therefore, it makes an important contribution to the European idea. Due to the setting of high education standards, the EACD enables the handcrafts to compete against globalisation.

I wish you all the best for your annual meeting in Laas/Lasa. I hope that you will have pleasure in staying together with friends from all over Europe apart from the exchange of expert knowledge, new ideas and projects.
Ján Figel’

European Commissioner responsible for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism

Address by Reinhold Messner on the occasion of the assignment of the EACD aspirants to European Tour Master of Craft

We live in a present in which many things change. Globalisation, if we look at just the last ten years, has acquired breathtaking speeds. Many people are disconcerted, others are wailing. But one cannot disparage globalisation in itself, we created it ourselves. It can have its good sides if we take correct control of our lives. Even if it appears to be slipping through the fingers of many people, it simply remains a fact, a fait accompli which it is necessary to accept.

Jürgen Prigl asked me for some direct words to the future European masters. In my life I have gained some experience as a mountaineer. The first, most important rule, rule No. 1 so to speak, is: where is my mountain?
I must know where the mountain is! If I don’t know, I can’t reach the peak, everything is only patchwork. If I know where I want to go, the second thing has to be solved, that is, the logistics. I must procure what I need: material, information, means. I must do it precisely, it must be right all around. Once these things have been clarified, the decision has been made and then there is only the orientation to the goal, concentration on doing it, identification with the whole. No disturbance from outside now has any chance. That is also inherent in the work of craftsmen: concentration on the work that is being created.

On my journeys I have become acquainted with some parts of the Earth. We Europeans, and in this connection it is important to think European, can in the world be proud of what our crafts represent in our common culture. That is something I have learned everywhere and I am here because I see this initiative as being the right one and support it. It is, however, high time for the handicrafts to get going. For your goal I wish you all the best, I congratulate you on this activity.