Byzantine Church of Hagia Kyriaki, Naxos, Greece among the 7 Grand Prix laureates in the Conservation category of the Europa Nostra awards.
The winners of the 2018 EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, Europe’s top honour in the field, were celebrated this evening during a high-profile awards ceremony in Berlin, in the presence of the Federal President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier. MaestroPlácido Domingo, President of Europa Nostra, the leading European heritage network, and Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, co-hosted the European Heritage Awards Ceremony. They announced and presented the 7 Grand Prix laureates, chosen from among this year’s 29 winning achievements. The Ceremony is among the highlights of the first ever European Cultural Heritage Summit, one of the key European events of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, which is taking place in Berlin from 18-24 June.
The 7 Grand Prix laureates, selected by a jury of experts and entitled to receive €10,000 each, are:
Category Conservation
Dr. Barner’s Sanatorium, Braunlage/Harz, GERMANY
Byzantine Church of Hagia Kyriaki, Naxos, GREECE
The Bač Fortress, Bač, SERBIA
Category Research
EPICO: European Protocol in Preventive Conservation, coordinated in Versailles, FRANCE
Category Dedicated Service
Mrs. Tone Sinding Steinsvik, NORWAY
Private Water Owners of Argual and Tazacorte, Canary Islands, SPAIN
Category Education, Training and Awareness-Raising
Culture Leap: Educational Programme, FINLAND
The Public Choice Award went to the rehabilitation of the Botanical Garden of the National Palace of Queluz, Sintra, Portugal. Some 6,500 people voted for their favourite heritage achievements in Europe via an online poll conducted by Europa Nostra.
During the Ceremony, the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2018 were presented to 29 winners from 17 countries taking part in the EU’s Creative Europe programme. In addition, a remarkable heritage achievement from Turkey, a European country not participating in that programme, also received a Europa Nostra Award.
Plácido Domingo, the renowned opera singer and President of Europa Nostra, stated: “It has been an enormous joy and privilege to meet our Award winners in Berlin and to celebrate their achievements together with so many Europeans dedicated to culture and cultural heritage. I warmly congratulate all the winners, particularly the Grand Prix laureates and the Public Choice Award winner. They are superb examples of organisations and individuals who care and work to safeguard our shared heritage.”
The President of Europa Nostra added: “The first ever European Cultural Heritage Summit in Berlin has brought together heritage champions, networks and experts; artists and journalists; high-ranking decision-makers acting at local, regional, national and European level as well as many civil society organisations and citizens. Our Summit has been a unique occasion to demonstrate our firm readiness to join forces to build a future Europe based on and inspired by the beauty and variety of our shared heritage and shared values.”
Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, said: “I congratulate all the winners of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2018 for their remarkable achievements. In showcasing and promoting cultural heritage in all its different forms, they will be a source of inspiration for others and help to build bridges between people from different backgrounds. This is what the European Year of Cultural Heritage is all about, and that is why this year’s ceremony is especially important. At the conclusion of the European Year, the Commission will present an Action Plan for Cultural Heritage to ensure that our shared commitment to preserving cultural heritage remains a top priority on the European Union’s political agenda.”
The Awards Ceremony was attended by some 1,000 people, ranging from high-level officials from EU Institutions and Member States to leading representatives of heritage organisations from all over Europe.
The European Cultural Heritage Summit “Sharing Heritage – Sharing Values” is co-hosted by the German Cultural Heritage Committee (DNK), the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) and Europa Nostra. It is supported by the European Commission, the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Berlin Senate Department for Cultural Affairs and Europe as well as many German and European partners, associates and private sponsors.
