Costa Carras European Citizens Awards 2025 presented to the winners in Delphi, Greece
The presentation ceremony of the Costa Carras European Citizens Awards for the Safeguard of Endangered Cultural and Natural Heritage 2025 took place on 9 April, in Delphi, within the framework of the Delphi Economic Forum 2025, one of the three founding partners of these Awards.
AKTI Project and Research Centre, a renowned Cypriot environmental NGO received the Golden Award for its exemplary work in raising awareness of the need to save natural heritage at risk in Cyprus and in the rest of Europe. The Silver Award was granted to the Italian NGO Future Food Institute (FFI) for successfully promoting and preserving their cultural and natural heritage.
Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, Lydia Carras, President of Elliniki Etairia – Society of the Environment and Cultural Heritage, and Shiva Dustdar, Head and Director of the European Investment Bank Institute, jointly presented the Golden Award to Dr. Xenia I. Loizidou, Chair of the Board of Directors of AKTI, and the Silver Award to Sara Roversi, President of the Future Food Institute.
The ceremony was attended by Simeon Tsomokos, Founder and President of the Delphi Economic Forum, Stavros Avgoustidis, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus in Athens, Marina Martinou, Council Member and Member of the President’s Circle of Europa Nostra, and Stefano Pisani, Mayor of Pollica and former President of the Cittaslow Global Network, among other personalities.
Meet the 2025 winners of the Awards
This year’s awards honour organisations and initiatives that place a greater focus on the environment. The Awards Jury’s decision reflects the increasing recognition, and urgency of natural and environmental challenges in both society and contemporary heritage practice, while also paying tribute to Costa Carras, whose lifelong dedication to protecting nature as heritage continues to inspire.
AKTI Project and Research Centre was founded in Nicosia in 2000 by a group of scientists specialising in environmental issues and sustainability. It has since grown into one of Cyprus’s largest environmental non-profits, with activities spanning over 50 countries. AKTI has been leading environmental protection, quality of life, and equality through initiatives in sustainability, marine literacy, social entrepreneurship, sustainable development, and public engagement.
The Future Food Institute is a global ecosystem that promotes integral ecological development, starting from food, a true nexus between health, culture, sociality, environment, and human well-being. Through research, education, systemic development projects, and Living Labs, the Future Food Institute experiments with concrete solutions to regenerate the planet and enhance quality of life. Founded in Italy in 2014, it now operates internationally with hubs in Europe, the United States, and Asia. Its approach is based on transdisciplinarity, community engagement, and the integration of technology with cultural heritage.
Messages from the Awards Partners
The Costa Carras European Citizens Awards for the Safeguard of Endangered Heritage were established in 2023 by Europa Nostra and Elliniki Etairia in memory of Costa Carras, an iconic champion of the protection of the environment and cultural heritage in Greece and Europe. The founding partners of the Awards are the A.G. Leventis Foundation, the Delphi Economic Forum and the European Investment Bank Institute.
High-level representatives from the partners of the Costa Carras European Citizens Awards congratulated the winners on their remarkable achievements and conveyed important messages during the ceremony.
Lydia Carras, Founder and Vice-President of Elliniki Etairia, stated: “These Awards are for citizens. Costa believed in the vital role of citizens to protect heritage and to protect democracy. We live in a world devastated by wars and conflicts, some very close to us; democracies once more are in danger in many parts of our planet. The citizens who won these Awards should give us hope, that we should not despair, that good can prevail.”
Shiva Dustdar, Head and Director of the European Investment Bank Institute, one of the three founding partners of the Awards emphasised: “The achievements of AKTI and the Future Food Institute remind us that each of us has a role to play in shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future – either through policy, investment or grass-roots activism. We must continue to champion the causes of cultural and environmental preservation. Let’s take inspiration from this year’s winners of the Costa Carras European Citizens Awards and double our efforts to protect and promote our shared heritage. In doing so, we are not just safeguarding buildings, landscapes or traditions; we are safeguarding the very foundations of our European identity”.
Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, thanked the winners for “passing fundamental messages for the humankind and the planet. Both nature and food are part of our culture and all three are fundamental pillars of sustainability and well-being.”
Last but not least, Anastasios P. Leventis, Chairman of the A.G. Leventis Foundation, one of the three founding partners of the Awards, conveyed to the winners a warm congratulatory video message.
