Submit Applications for European Heritage Awards 2025

The Awards recognize exceptional achievements in the protection, conservation, research and promotion of cultural heritage, covering a wide range of categories and project types from tangible to intangible heritage.

Categories

• Outstanding heritage achievements will be awarded in the following categories/:
  • Conservation & Adaptive Reuse
    • Must have been completed during the past three years (October 2021 – October 2024).
    • Must adhere to the most up-to-date principles and standards of heritage conservation. (identification and respect of heritage values, materials, legibility, compatibility, and reversibility).
    • Should be accessible to the public.
    • Buildings or sites that are regularly used by large numbers of people, for instance, schools or office premises, are considered accessible. Private buildings or sites that are regularly open to visitors, at least once a year, are also considered accessible.
  • Research
    • Must have been completed during the past three years (within the period between October 2021 and October 2024).  For Research projects, they recommend that you wait until such a time as you can present evidence of the results and more long-term impact of the project.
    • Should entail one or more of the following types of activity:
      • Research study
      • Scientific publication on the results of research
      • Applied research
      • Pilot projects
      • New/innovative methodologies, techniques, models or tools that lead to new knowledge about a given cultural heritage site/ asset or with regard to the safeguard and/or the enhancement of cultural heritage.
    • Should be innovative in nature with a clear methodology and scientific approach that are reproducible.
    • Should clearly present qualitative and quantitative results that generated an improvement for heritage sites/assets, as well as for their users and stakeholders in the given context.
  • Education, Training & Skills
    • Must have been completed during the past three years (within the period between October 2021 and October 2024), or should be ongoing and at an advanced stage in order to have led to tangible results (quantitative and qualitative) that have generated an improvement for heritage sites/assets, as well as for their users and stakeholders in the given context.
    • Should be interactive and participatory and lead to the engagement and empowerment of the participants.
    • Should reach beyond the standard educational or academic framework.
  • Citizens Engagement & Awareness-raising
    • Must have been completed during the past three years (within the period between October 2021 and October 2024), or should be ongoing and at an advanced stage in order to have led to tangible results (quantitative and qualitative) that have generated an improvement for heritage sites/assets, as well as for their users and stakeholders in the given context.
    • Should be interactive and participatory and lead to the engagement and empowerment of the participants.
  • Heritage Champions
    • Candidates must be nominated by another individual or organisation.
    • The nominees can be an individual, organisation or group of people. An acting head of an international heritage network or heritage organisation should not be nominated until such time as they are no longer in a leadership position of this network/organisation.
    • The achievement in question may be remunerated or non-remunerated/voluntary.
    • The nominees must demonstrate a high degree of commitment, coupled with excellence in the protection, conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage in Europe.
    • The achievement must have far exceeded normal expectations from heritage professionals or volunteers in a given context.
    • The results achieved by the nominees must have generated an improvement for heritage sites/assets, or for their users and stakeholders in a given context.

Prize Information

• The European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards will honor up to 30 outstanding heritage achievements, among which up to five Grand Prix will be awarded, each with a monetary prize of €10,000.
• In addition, the Public Choice Award will be presented to one of the selected award winners, following an online vote conducted via the Europa Nostra website and will also receive a monetary prize of €10,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• The project/entry may be submitted in one category only. In case of hesitations about the most suitable category
• Entries may be submitted by individuals or organisations who are entitled to represent the initiative, as long as they have included the consent from the owner of the related heritage site or collection (for category Conservation), from the author or owner/leader of the project (for categories Research, Education, Training & Skills and Citizens Engagement & Awareness raising), or from the nominee (for category Heritage Champions). The entrant must inform all associated partners and stakeholders that they are applying.
• Entries, or nominations in the case of the category Heritage Champions, may not be submitted by members of the Selection Committees, the Heritage Awards Jury, nor the Board of Europa Nostra.
• Entries may be re-submitted once, with the necessary adapted text of the entry dossier and/or with additional documentation.
• Incomplete entries will not be considered.
• Entries must be submitted in English.
• By submitting an entry, the entrant agrees to the processing and sharing of data in accordance with Europa Nostra’s Privacy Policy.

Selection Criteria

• The following are the transversal themes which are considered to be key priorities for the selection of the Grand Prix winners and the criteria by which projects exhibiting these qualities are defined:
  • Innovation: Projects or initiatives which implement new ideas, knowledge or methods and generate an improvement for heritage, its users and stakeholders in the current or previous context, also in terms of well-being. They should be highly innovative (innovation being conceived in one or more different areas, such as cultural, political, economic, social, technological, legal and/or environmental) and feasible to implement in other locations and with high potential for transferability.
  • Digital Transformation: Projects or initiatives which use digital technology to deliver value to users, audiences and communities and/or contribute to the transformation of the heritage sector powered by digital means. They should be Interdisciplinary in nature, with high potential for transferability and should make heritage accessible through the digitalisation or digitisation of heritage collections or tools.
  • Sustainability & Climate Action: Projects or initiatives which demonstrate the capacities of cultural heritage to assess and/or mitigate the effects of climate change and contribute to key areas of the European Green Deal, including Clean Energy, Circular Economy, the Renovation Wave, Smart Mobility, Farm to Fork, Green Finance and a Just
  • Social Cohesion & Well-being: Projects and initiatives which show the relevance of heritage for the positive integration and exchange between different age groups or communities as well as the significance of heritage to the health (physical and mental) and well-being of individuals and their communities.
  • International Relations: Projects and initiatives which build relations and cooperation between countries and/or communities through, among others, sharing expertise, capacity building, joining resources or community engagement activities.

For more information, visit Europa Nostra.