ECF is thrilled to learn that the employees and activists of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina have won an EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2016, Europe’s highest honour in the heritage field.
The 28 laureates from 16 countries have been recognised for their exemplary achievements in conservation, research, dedicated service, and education, training and awareness-raising. Independent expert juries assessed a total of 187 applications, submitted by organisations and individuals from 36 countries across Europe, and selected the winners. Citizens from around the world can now vote online for the Public Choice Award and mobilise support for the award-winning project(s) from their own or another European country.
ECF Director, Katherine Watson, who has supported the museum's application says:
This incredible team has been safeguarding the very memory and the irreplaceable treasures of the country - for no other reason that it is the right and the only thing to do in order to pass on this heritage to future generations. I cannot imagine a greater dedication, or one more fitting for this award. When the public sector is willing again to step in to reclaim their responsibility, these committed and inspiring individuals will be there - to partner.
This award lends weight to this hope, tethers it and helps it to become a reality - so that the National Museum in Sarajevo returns to its rightful place as a jewel in the community and a treasure for all.
The winners of the European Heritage Awards 2016 will be celebrated during a high-profile event co-hosted by EU Commissioner Tibor Navracsics and Maestro Plácido Domingo on the evening of 24 May at the historic Zarzuela Theatre in Madrid. The European Heritage Awards Ceremony will assemble up to 1,000 people, including heritage professionals, volunteers and supporters from all over Europe as well as top-level representatives from EU institutions, the host country and other Member States. During the ceremony, the seven Grand Prix laureates, each of whom will receive €10,000, and the Public Choice Award winner, chosen from among this year’s winning projects, will be announced.
The prize winners will also present their remarkable heritage accomplishments during the Excellence Fair on the morning of 24 May at the headquarters of the College of Architects of Madrid and participate in various networking events to be held during the European Heritage Congress in Madrid (22-27 May) organised by Europa Nostra in the framework of its network project 'Mainstreaming Heritage', which has the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.