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Voor een optimale ervaring met deze website is het aan te raden om over te stappen naar een modernere verie of installeer Google Chrome Frame Press releases (in 10 languages) and photos can be downloaded at the bottom of this webpage On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the 7 Most Endangered Programme in 2023 Europa Nostra – the European Voice of Civil Society Committed to Cultural and Natural Heritage – and the European Investment Bank Institute have just announced the 11 most threatened heritage sites in Europe shortlisted for this year’s  edition of the programme (Information about these exceptional but endangered heritage sites and the reasons why they were shortlisted are provided via the links above and later in this webpage) stated: “This shortlist covers a wide variety of monuments and heritage sites which are facing different types of serious threats The local communities and civil society organisations are deeply committed to preserving these remarkable examples of our shared heritage to join forces with Europa Nostra and our network of members and partners to secure a viable future for these shortlisted sites.” Hermann Parzinger added: “The 7 Most Endangered Programme which brings together the cultural heritage expertise and advocacy of Europa Nostra and the technical assessment and financial expertise of the European Investment Bank I wish to thank the European Investment Bank (EIB) and its Institute as well as all the experts professionals and volunteers for their significant contribution to saving Europe’s endangered heritage through this meaningful programme” The Director of the European Investment Bank Institute said: “The EIB Institute is proud to contribute to safeguarding Europe’s endangered heritage through the 7 Most Endangered Programme with our long time partner Europa Nostra this catalytic programme has been facilitating the transfer of know-how and experience between different partners and countries useful in its purpose and shows the cohesive power of cultural heritage which connects European people and communities” The selection of the shortlisted sites was made on the basis of the outstanding heritage significance and cultural value of each of the sites as well as on the basis of the serious danger that they are facing today The level of engagement of local communities and the commitment of public and private stakeholders to saving these sites were considered as crucial added values Another selection criterion was the potential of these sites to act as a catalyst for sustainable development and as a tool for promoting peace and dialogue within their localities and wider regions The final list of 7 Most Endangered heritage sites in Europe for 2023 will be unveiled in April the programme forms part of a civil society campaign to save Europe’s endangered heritage prepares independent assessments and proposes recommendations for action It also provides a grant of €10,000 per listed site to assist in implementing an agreed activity that will contribute to saving the threatened site the listing of an endangered site serves as a catalyst and incentive for the mobilisation of necessary public or private support (listed in alphabetical order of the country where they are located) While some Darwin-critics make a big deal about so-called “living fossils,” I’ve never discussed them much because it’s never been entirely clear to me what they show whether for or against neo-Darwinian evolution Living fossils are of course organisms that have not changed at all over long periods of time these species seem to have remained virtually the same for hundreds of millions of years A new article in American Scientist, “The Evolutionary Truth About Living Fossils,” explores the subject and notes that “The term living fossil has been used since Darwin coined it.” It then attacks the use of living fossils by “creationists”: creationists bent on denying the factual basis of evolution have increasingly misappropriated the term living fossil which pairs photographs of living fossils with similar ancient fossils Turkish author and Islamic creationist Harun Yahya erroneously argues that “Darwinists are desperate when confronted by these fossils for they prove that the evolution process has never existed.” Entry of “living fossil” into Internet search engines yields a preponderance of creationist websites despite the fact that these species neither disprove nor provide any evidence counter to our understanding of evolution which remains the cornerstone of biological science There are no “unevolved” species no reanimated fossils that have literally come back to life and no living organisms that are truly identical to extinct species known in the fossil record Some of these counterpoints may be reasonable and I certainly wouldn’t endorse Harun Yahya’s bizarre book But the article in American Scientist misses the fact that whenever we see in the fossil record an organism that looks virtually identical to a living species that’s also completely consistent with the hypothesis that “this species has not evolved.” So while it’s correct to for the authors say “we must not expect that all aspects of coelacanth or horseshoe crab biology have existed unchanged for hundreds of millions of years,” it’s equally if not more correct to respond that we must not assume that they have changed either (aside from the hard evidence which we have suggests they haven’t changed but at one point notes that living fossils show us that natural selection is a preservative and conserving force Most major animal body plans have existed unchanged since the Cambrian explosion 530 million years ago … Evolutionary biologist George Williams keenly noted in his 1997 book The Pony Fish’s Glow that “adaptationist stories are not about evolution so much as about its absence.” Such stories focus less on how various features arise than on why they are maintained — why they do not continue to evolve and opposable thumbs of human ancestors arose Natural selection preserves features by preventing their loss optimizing process of normalizing selection “What natural selection mainly does is to cull departures from the currently optimum development.” Aristotle’s descriptions of wild animals and plants are still accurate for their descendants today mainly because natural selection has prevented their evolution but it leaves unanswered questions about how animal body plans humanity’s big brains and opposable thumbs or a myriad of other biological features arose in the first place Perhaps living fossils serve to remind us that evolutionary biology lacks a theory of the generative The authors of the article don’t agree the piece closes by claiming that everything everywhere at every moment of time in all cases provides evidence for evolution — including living fossils: Despite their apparent resistance to chance serve as proof that evolution continues unabated as the driving force behind the tremendous diversity of life on Earth Everything proves evolution– even the absence of evolution! Such talk would be funny if it weren’t being offered in dead seriousness. It’s also a reminder of the unhealthy state of evolutionary biology Scientists feel pressured to pretend that anything and everything — including species that show no evidence of change at all — confirms the Darwinian thesis thus demonstrating their neo-Darwinian bona fides even while discussing an awkward topic like living fossils if present-day organisms that appear identical to fossils that are hundreds of millions of years old “serve as proof” that evolutionary mechanisms created “the tremendous diversity of life on Earth,” then what might serve as disproof Apart from obvious absurdities like the infamous Precambrian rabbit Image: Ginkgo biloba trees, Morlanwelz-Mariemont Park, Belgium/Wikipedia. The 7 Most Endangered Programme will celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2023 Europa Nostra and the European Investment Bank Institute made public the 11 most endangered European heritage sites on this year's pre-selection list - the Ottó Herman Museum informed MTI on 25 January In addition to the museum in Miskolc and the Memento Park in Budapest the Domain and Royal Museum of Mariemont (Morlanwelz former Moravian settlement of Kleinwelka (Germany) the Mansion ("Konaki") of Gidas (Alexandreia the Cultural Landscape of Paštrovska Gora (Montenegro) Cultural Landscape of Sveti Stefan (Montenegro) as well as the Watermills of Petrovac na Mlavi (Bistrica The Republic of Councils Monument in Memento Park (Photo: László Bálint Nagy/pestbuda.hu) Nominations for the 7 Most Endangered Programme could be submitted by Europa Nostra's member institutions and members of the European Heritage Alliance across Europe The 11 endangered heritage sites were selected by an international advisory board consisting of historians The selection criteria were based on the outstanding heritage significance and cultural value of the above monuments as well as the real danger they currently face as well as the extent of the commitment of the public and private sectors to save the sites Another selection factor was the site's catalysing nature promoting sustainable development and peace and dialogue between local and wider regional communities 2021 (Photo: László Bálint Nagy/pestbuda.hu) The list of 7 endangered heritage sites that will eventually be included in the program will be announced in April The program launched in 2013 is part of a civil society campaign to save endangered European heritage prepares independent evaluations and makes recommendations for action and also provides financial support of 10,000 euros Cover photo: The entrance to Memento Park (Photo: Memento Park) The toppled monuments tell of the old days Monuments of the socialist era were dismantled 30 years ago © 2025 Látóhatár Kiadó Lap-és Könyvkiadó Kft