It has become a common practice for annual events to be held online and yesterday afternoon was no different when the winners of the 2020 European Heritage/ Europa Nostra Awards distinguishing conservation projects on the Old Continent were announced. The virtual format, however, was nevertheless counted with important presence, such as EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel (Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth) and Hermann Parzinger, the Executive President of Europa Nostra.
Four initiatives, out of 21 nominated, were deemed deserving of distinction – with three of them receiving the Grand Prix awards and another one the Public Choice Award.
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The Grand Prix winners, set to receive 10 000 euros each, were chosen by an independent jury of experts in collaboration with the Board of the Europa Nostra – one of the most important non-profit associations working on heritage preservation.
The three projects distinguished with this award were as follows:
Restoration work on the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, L’Aquila (Italy). This church was seriously damaged during the massive earthquake, which hit Central Italy in 2009.
Tramontana Network III (France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain) project. This initiative recognizes the commonality among the various European mountainous regions and the historical lifestyles of the people inhabiting them, which is why it seeks to promote and preserve it regardless of national borders.
The exhibition ‘Auschwitz. Not long ago, Not far away’ (Poland/Spain). This sought to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the infamous Nazi concentration camp and educate people about its importance to history by traveling to various cities around the world.
The Public Choice Award went to the Romanian project called Ambulance for Monuments. It received the largest number of online votes in support of its efforts to save protected buildings from degradation through the creation of a network of active heritage organizations.
For the first time ever, two new awards were also presented – the ILUCIDARE Special Prizes, which seek to encourage international relations and innovations through the usage of heritage as a resource. These prizes went to Archaeology for a young future (Italy/Syria) and to TYPA – Estonian Print and Paper Museum, Tartu (Estonia).
Source: TheMayor.EU
