Over 600 guests and many more viewers online from around the heritage community attended the awards given to winning projects at the 2022 European Heritage Awards Ceremony in Prague.

The 26 September event saw prizes given to the 5 Grand Prix and Public Choice Award winners and the celebration of the 30 winners of the European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards.

5 Grand Prix winners

The Grand Prix winners, each receiving €10.000 are:

Silknow

Grand Prix laureate for Innovation

(France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain)

This Horizon 2020 research project produced a comprehensive, intelligent computational system that goes beyond current technologies to improve our understanding and knowledge of Europe’s silk heritage.

More information about the Silknow project

Symphony

Grand Prix laureate for Digital Transformation

(Spain)

With an immersive audiovisual experience, Symphony raises greater awareness and appreciation for the heritage of classical music among new generations using state-of-the-art technologies.

More information about the Symphony project

Rivers of Sofia

Grand Prix laureate for Social Cohesion and Well-being

(Bulgaria)

With the help of this initiative, people were able to access the artificial riverbeds of Sofia for the first time in 80 years. Pop-up architectural interventions and events made this possible. Increasing the visibility of the river in Sofia, this initiative has helped to improve social cohesion in the city.

More information about the Rivers of Sofia project

Va' Sentiero

Grand Prix laureate for Sustainability and Climate Action

(Italy)

This three-year grassroots expedition was undertaken by a group of young enthusiasts who walked and documented the entire 8000 km length of the Sentiero Italia, the longest hiking route in the world. 3000 participants from 10 countries and many local communities took part. This initiative is a powerful and inspiring example of how to encourage slow, sustainable engagement with natural heritage and landscapes.

More information about the Va' Sentiero project

Costa Carras

Grand Prix laureate for International Relations (posthumously)

(Greece)

For over 50 years, Costa Carras worked tirelessly in favour of Greece’s and Europe’s cultural and natural heritage to create a more sustainable, inclusive and beautiful world for present and future generations. He was a visionary conservationist, an eminent historian and a true European leader who connected and inspired people across the world through heritage.

Learn more about Costa Carras' life and achievements

Public Choice Winner

The Public Choice Award went to the initiative World Vyshyvanka Day, UKRAINE, an annual holiday celebrated internationally that helps preserve the iconic Ukrainian embroidered shirt (vyshyvanka) as an important element of the heritage of the Ukrainian people. In 2022, for the first time ever, the Public Choice Award winner will receive a monetary award of €10 000.

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, who was present at the Ceremony, shared her warmest congratulations with the winners and underlined that

the EU prize for cultural heritage honours individuals and communities for their outstanding commitment to preserve our rich European heritage. It is thanks to their restless work that future generations will still be able to enjoy it and be inspired by it.

A special thought goes to the Ukrainian initiative that won the Public Choice Awards with almost 11 000 votes.

Background

The event was one of the highlights of the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2022and part of the programme of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards are co-funded by the Creative Europe programme, the dedicated EU-funding programme for the cultural and audiovisual sector.