The World Vyshyvanka Day initiative from Ukraine has become one of the winners of the 2022 European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Programme, and the St Andrew’s Church project has become a laureate.
The awards ceremony took place on 26 September at the Prague State Opera, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
The 5 Grand Prix winners, as well as the winner of the Public Choice Award, were selected from 30 nominees from 18 countries for “the greatest achievements of the year”.
World Vyshyvanka Day won the Public Choice Award. This impressive initiative received the most votes in an online poll involving nearly 11,000 European citizens. The organisers presented it as “an annual international holiday promoting the preservation of the iconic Ukrainian Vyshyvanka (an embroidered shirt) as an important element of the heritage of the Ukrainian people” (video here).
This year, for the first time ever, the winner of the Public Choice Award will receive a cash prize of €10,000.
Martin Baxa, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Culture of the European Union and Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic, said he was very pleased that the World Vyshyvanka Day initiative had won the Public Choice Award and that this initiative was also present in the Czech Republic. “The iconic embroidery of Ukraine is an element of the heritage of the Ukrainian people. Solidarity with Ukraine is prominently featured in this year’s European Heritage Summit program. I believe that together we can significantly contribute to supporting Ukrainian cultural heritage at this important time,” said the politician.
The winners of the 2022 Grand Prix are French-German-Italian-Polish-Slovenian-Spanish SILKNOW Horizon 2020 project (for Innovation); Spanish Symphony (for Digital Transformation); Bulgarian Rivers of Sofia (for Social Cohesion and Wellbeing); Italian Va’ Sentiero (for Sustainable Development and Climate Action); and Greek Costa Carras † (for International Relations). They will also receive a cash prize of €10,000 each.
Among the 30 winners of this year’s prize is another project from Ukraine – St Andrew’s Church in Kyiv. The restoration of this church has returned to the people of Ukraine a monument of significant cultural and spiritual value, say the organisers. The church now functions as a museum and hosts services, scientific and educational events, and chamber music concerts (video here).
“At a time of great challenge for Europe and the world, while we offer our sincere congratulations to all our prize winners, we would like to send a special message of support and solidarity to the people of Ukraine, and in particular to the many heritage professionals and volunteers who continue to work there despite Russia’s terrible invasion of their country. We are particularly proud that two of this year’s winners are from Ukraine: the outstanding restoration of St Andrew’s Church in Kyiv and the wonderful World Vyshyvanka Day initiative,” said Europa Nostra Executive President Hermann Partzinger.
The awards ceremony was attended by 600 professionals, volunteers, amateurs and heritage supporters from across Europe, including the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel.
The ceremony was the highlight of the European Heritage Summit 2022, which took place in Prague on 25-27 September as part of the official programme of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
More information: The European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards were launched by the European Commission in 2002. The Awards system is supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe Programme.
Europa Nostra is a pan-European federation of cultural heritage NGOs, supported by a wide network of public authorities, private companies and individuals in more than 40 countries. Founded in 1963, it is now Europe’s largest and most representative cultural heritage network. It maintains close relations with the European Union, the Council of Europe, UNESCO and other international organisations.
Creative Europe is an EU programme that supports the cultural and creative sectors, enabling them to increase their contribution to European society and economy. With a budget of €2.4 billion for 2021-2027, the programme supports organisations in cultural heritage, performing arts, visual arts, interdisciplinary arts, publishing, film, television, music and video games, and tens of thousands of artists, cultural and audiovisual professionals.