Home News 2024 Winners present their inspiring projects and key learnings at the Excellence Day

2024 Winners present their inspiring projects and key learnings at the Excellence Day

October 09, 2024 | Posted in Awards

The European Heritage Excellence Day 2024 took place on the afternoon of 6 October at the Royal Palace – National Museum of Art of Romania. At the event, each of the 26 winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2024 presented their inspiring projects and key learning to the wider public.

Today we inaugurate the #EuropeanHeritageSummit 2024 in Bucharest with the #ExcellenceDay, at @MNARArts! The 26 winners of the #EuropeanHeritageAwards 2024 are presenting their projects & key learnings ✍️

🏆👉https://t.co/EIGuinwejW pic.twitter.com/uaCAQ6si8Z

— Europa Nostra (@europanostra) October 6, 2024

The Excellence Day gathered together over 200 participants, including renowned professionals, experts, researchers, volunteers, and advocates from across Europe and beyond, all actively involved in the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage. It thus presented an excellent platform for exchange among a diverse range of heritage practitioners.

The presentations were divided into five sessions dedicated to the five categories of the Awards: 1) Conservation & Adaptive Reuse; 2) Research; 3) Education, Training & Skills; 4) Citizens’ Engagement & Awareness-raising; and 5) Heritage Champions. Each of the winners offered fresh perspectives on their initiatives, sharing stories of hope, change and inspiration.

The European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards are co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Judith Videcoq, Head of Unit of Creative Europe, Directorate General of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture of the European Commission, addressed the audience. “For more than two decades the European Commission and Europa Nostra have worked together to promote extraordinary achievements in the field of cultural heritage. I would like to welcome all of you to this Community of Excellence. All your stories show that it takes not only expertise and a whole set of skills to safeguard and promote our shared cultural heritage, but also a huge amount of passion, determination and patience. […] Thank you for the precious gift you made to us and to Europe with your projects,” she stated.

In his address, Jacek Purchla, Vice-President of Europa Nostra and Chair of the Awards’ Jury 2024, emphasised: “These projects go beyond heritage protection. They involve communities, reach new audiences, and show how heritage improves social wellbeing and sustainable development.”

Eugen Vaida, Chair of the Awards’ Selection Committee Conservation and Adaptive Reuse, also took the floor to congratulate the winners. “What we have witnessed today is how cultural heritage is intersectional and how it represents a strong glue among different and seemingly distant fields. Heritage is a beacon of hope and all these projects are inspiring examples of how a passion can be turned into a profession that drives change,” he concluded.

Elena Bianchi, Programme Manager of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards, moderated the Excellence Day, which was held in the frame of the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2024 in Bucharest.