The 2025 call for European Heritage Days Stories opens

How to apply

The deadline for applications is 12 March 2025. Applications can be submitted in English or French.

Who can apply

The call is open to:

• European Heritage Days event organizers from the 48 participating countries of the European Cultural Convention
• European Heritage Award/Europa Nostra Award winners
• European Heritage Label sites and Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe

Applicants must have organized at least one European Heritage Days event between 15 August 2021 and 27 October 2024 and should plan to host or organize an event in 2025.

About the call for European Heritage Days Stories

The call for European Heritage Days Stories is an initiative designed to spotlight the narratives behind European Heritage Days events.
The European Heritage Days (EHD) is an annual series of events bringing European citizens together to celebrate, share, and support the work of communities across Europe fostering a sense of shared European identity and values.

Goals of the 2025 call

Encourage people to engage with Europe’s cultural heritage and reinforce a sense of belonging to the European common space.

Collect stories on how communities perceive and connect with the European dimension of their local heritage.

Identify and promote communities that work with heritage in line with European values, fostering long-term collaboration.

Recognize and reward communities for their efforts and motivate them to further develop their stories.

Encourage participation from European Heritage Award/Europa Nostra Award winners, European Heritage Label Sites, Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe and others engaged in the European Heritage Days.

Selection Criteria

The top 16 project ideas will be invited to submit detailed proposals. The maximum points available: 100.
Selection is based on the following:

• How well-written and engaging the story is (max. 10 points)
• How the proposal connects to the European dimension and its potential to be used as a good practice example (max. 15 points)
• How the proposal aligns with European Heritage Days priorities such as diversity, education, community participation, environmental protection, gender equality, and youth engagement (max. 20 points)
• How original and creative the proposal is (max. 10 points)
• How feasible the proposal is within the timeframe provided below and the grant’s limits (max. 20 points)
• What potential positive impact the proposal has on the community (max. 15 points)

Additional points (max. 10 points) will be awarded for:

• Long-term sustainability of the proposal
• If the proposal a cross-border collaboration
• If the proposal includes vulnerable and minority groups, youth, and children

About European Heritage Days

European Heritage Days is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the Council of Europe, running since 1999. They are the most widely celebrated participatory cultural events shared by people living in Europe.

They help bring people together and highlight the European dimension of cultural heritage in the countries that signed the European Cultural Convention. Up to 70 000 events are organised each year to help raise awareness of the value of this common heritage and the need to preserve it for present and future generations.