In the area of international contacts, the Association has become a member of the pan-European organisations European Historic Houses (“EHH”).

The Association has all of the prerequisites for forming and nurturing mutual contacts with organisations abroad. Many of the Association’s members (most of whom lived abroad previous to 1989) have excellent business and social connections internationally. Furthermore, many of the Association’s pre-eminent members are conversant in several languages, which is an important asset for international relations.

The principal aim of international cooperation is to draw on the experience of individual national associations similar to the Czech Association in their home countries. Many European countries have well-honed systems for supporting the care of movable and immovable cultural, architectural and historic monuments, which have been in use and constantly improved and adapted to changing needs over a period of several decades. The Association hopes to bring these programmes to the attention of the appropriate Czech authorities and ensure that they are adopted here and adapted to local needs.

As part of its international cooperation remit, the Association has organised, and hopes to continue organising, both working and social meetings with representatives of foreign associations to make them aware of the situation concerning the care of cultural and historic monuments in this country, as well as to gain access to international charities and super-national programmes, whose aim it is to preserve the cultural heritage throughout the whole of Europe.

These activities of the Association are no less important than those described above and are of paramount importance to most members.

The structure and level of the Association's membership base provides a supportive environment for gaining valuable experience and making necessary business and social contacts.

The very fact that members own, repair, restore and maintain cultural, architectural and historic monuments is testament to their ability and strength of character. Each has a wide range of experience related to the ownership and operation of a property, and each has also undoubtedly made certain mistakes in the repair and renovation of their property, such as selecting unqualified contractors, contracting work to inexperienced restorers, or purchasing expensive or inferior materials.

By creating some common base of information based on this experience, the members of the Association will be able to build on the experience of others and thus prevent the repetition of mistakes in the repair and maintenance of their properties. A further benefit to the Association's members will be the collection and dissemination of information relating to all programmes to support owners of cultural, architectural and historic monuments. In this context, it should be particularly noted that there are programmes organised by the Ministries of Culture, Environment and Regional Development. It is also to be hoped that access to grants from regional authorities will be facilitated once their budgets and competences are fully established. The Association will establish an effective database and advise its members on the most appropriate programmes, focusing on their needs and how they should formulate their applications for support.

The Association has already assisted some of its members in dealing with building and heritage authorities and aims to achieve a situation where its recommendations actually guarantee that assistance will be provided to everyone it supports. The Association should be in the best position to assess and prioritise the needs of its members.

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