European Heritage Excellence Day in Nicosia showcases heritage as a powerful force for cohesion and innovation
The European Heritage Excellence Day 2026 took place on 27 May at the THOC Theatre in Nicosia, Cyprus, as part of the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2026. During the event, the 30 winners of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2026 presented their inspiring projects and shared key learnings to some 250 participants, including renowned experts, advocates, researchers and volunteers, who travelled to Nicosia from all corners of Europe.
The presentations were divided into sessions dedicated to the five categories of the Awards: 1) Citizens’ Engagement & Awareness-raising; 2) Heritage Champions; 3) Education, Training & Skills; 4) Research; and 5) Conservation & Adaptive Reuse. Each laureate presented their project’s journey, highlighting the achievements, challenges and innovative approaches that contributed to its success, while reflecting on its broader significance for Europe’s cultural heritage sector. The programme was enriched by musical performances and presentations by key cultural sector organisations.
The Excellence Day, moderated by Elena Bianchi, Programme Manager of the European Heritage Awards at Europa Nostra, also fostered meaningful dialogue and exchange. Networking opportunities throughout the event encouraged conversations between the winners and participants, creating a dynamic space for sharing experiences, ideas and inspiration across Europe’s heritage community.
The event was jointly organised by Europa Nostra and the European Commission with the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
Opening session
The European Heritage Excellence Day opened with a beautiful musical performance by Nicoletta Demetriou, Director of the Cyprus Music Archive and representative of The Cypriot Fiddler project, one of the 2026 laureates.
Through a traditional Cypriot song about welcoming guests into one’s home, she offered a fitting tribute to the gathering of more than 400 participants from across Europe. As the song reminds us, guests are invited not only to eat and drink, but also to connect and build meaningful bonds.
Reflecting on this message, Androulla Vassiliou, Vice-President of Europa Nostra and Chair of the Europa Nostra Heritage Hub in Nicosia, highlighted the song’’s significance as a reminder that spending time together is essential for fostering understanding and connection. “Cultural heritage is about bringing people together, across generations, cultures and borders,” she noted.
The opening continued with remarks by Maximilian Voigt, Policy Officer at the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission, who emphasised the value of networking and encouraged participants to make the most of the opportunities for exchange throughout the day. He underlined the broader impact of cultural heritage, stating: “The Awards are rooted in the belief that cultural heritage is far more than a reflection about our past, it is a powerful force for positive change, strengthening communities, supporting well-being, fueling creativity and contributing to a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive future.”
A few important messages from the winners
Beyond showcasing outstanding achievements in heritage, the laureates’ presentations highlighted several powerful messages about the role of cultural heritage in contemporary society.
A compelling example came from the presentation of the Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Preservation (Madrid, Spain) – winner in the category Heritage Champions – delivered by James Macmillan-Scott, who challenged conventional assumptions about authenticity and access. Drawing on the foundation’s pioneering work in high-resolution recording and facsimile production, he argued that “the experience of the facsimile can be more authentic than seeing originals in museums’’ by enabling deeper engagement with cultural heritage. He further reflected that “originality is a process, not a fixed moment” and emphasised the importance of physical interaction, noting that “touch is the most sensitive sense” and can create particularly intimate and meaningful connections with heritage.
Among the most emotional moments of the event were the presentations dedicated to the laureates from Ukraine. Maryna Hrytsenko † (1986-2025), who was chief custodian of the Galagan Art Museum in Chernihiv, was honoured with a posthumous Award in the category Heritage Champions. Her story embodied the extraordinary challenges faced by museum professionals during wartime. The presentation by Milena Chorna served not only as a tribute to Maryna’s courage and dedication, but also to all museum professionals who have lost their lives protecting cultural heritage during the war in Ukraine.
A similarly moving message emerged from the presentation of Preserving the Art and Memory of Polina Raiko – winner in the category Citizens Engagement and Awareness-raising – delivered by Olena Afanasieva. After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in 2023 led to catastrophic flooding that severely damaged the painted house of the self-taught Ukrainian artist, volunteers and cultural professionals mobilised to preserve her legacy through digitisation, publications, exhibitions and educational initiatives. Describing Raiko as “an ordinary woman transforming pain into beauty”, Afanasieva highlighted how cultural heritage can endure even when physical sites are threatened or lost. The project demonstrated the resilience of communities and the capacity of collective action to safeguard memory in the face of destruction.
The presentation of the Gardens of Peace Project (France) – winner in the category Citizens Engagement and Awareness-raising – delivered by Gilbert Fillinger, showed how a simple yet powerful idea can grow into a transnational movement. The project creates contemporary public gardens along former First World War front lines, designed by landscape architects from countries that once stood on opposing sides of the conflict. Since its launch in 2018, the initiative has expanded across more than 1,000 kilometres, from Belgium to Switzerland, demonstrating the widespread appeal of using heritage landscapes as tools for peace education, remembrance and dialogue, a message that resonated particularly strongly in Nicosia, Europe’s last divided capital, and in a period marked by ongoing conflicts close to Europe’s borders, reminding participants that reconciliation remains as important today as ever.
A few interesting insights from the winners’ presentations
While the Excellence Day celebrates successful projects as well as dedicated individuals and organisations behind them, the presentations also offered a valuable perspective on the time, perseverance and strategic thinking required to achieve lasting impact. Many restoration projects span years, if not decades. For some, restoration works take between five and ten years to complete, while others follow much longer journeys.
A striking example is the Polirone Monastic Complex in San Benedetto Po (Italy), which was listed among Europe’s 7 Most Endangered heritage sites in 2013 and, more than a decade later, received a Grand Prix in the category Conservation and Adaptive Reuse. for its restoration efforts. Similarly, at the restoration of the Hungarian State Opera House (Budapest, Hungary), the process of measuring and documenting the building alone required two years before works could begin.
Another recurring theme was scalability and the importance of adapting ambitious visions to local realities. Vanessa Morandi, representing the San Benedetto Po project, explained the challenges of undertaking the restoration of a vast monastic complex in a town of just 7,000 inhabitants. The solution was a phased approach, renovating the site sector by sector and advancing steadily over time.
A different but equally effective strategy was presented by Andrea Giotti through the Multifunctional Urban District of Bologna – DumBO (Italy), where minimal interventions and modular solutions were used to transform a large urban area while maintaining economic and environmental sustainability.
Presentations by representatives from Europeana, Culture Moves Europe, and EIT Culture & Creativity
Alongside the laureates’ presentations, participants received updates on several European initiatives supporting the cultural and creative sectors.
Lorena Aldana, Head of External Relations and Advocacy at the Europeana Foundation, highlighted the growing policy momentum around artificial intelligence (AI) and culture. She encouraged heritage professionals to become not only “boundary setters” but also “opportunity seekers”, embracing AI with confidence to advance the sector’’s goals.
Judith Schulde, Head of Project Culture Moves Europe, presented the EU’s flagship mobility scheme for artists and cultural professionals, announcing the next call in Autumn 2026 and outlining opportunities for both individual mobility and residency hosts, with support expected for around 6,000 participants.
Finally, Johanna Leissner, Member of the Supervisory Board, introduced EIT Culture & Creativity, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s newest Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), showcasing its mission to strengthen innovation, entrepreneurship and collaboration across Europe’s cultural and creative sectors.
Concluding session
Bringing the Excellence Day to a close, Prof. Dr. Hermann Parzinger, Executive President of Europa Nostra, delivered concluding remarks that captured the enthusiasm and spirit of exchange that had defined the event.
Reflecting on the richness and diversity of the presentations, Prof. Dr. Hermann Parzinger emphasised that every participant – regardless of their professional background, area of expertise, or level of experience – had something valuable to learn and contribute. Highlighting the broader role of cultural heritage in shaping Europe’s future, he noted that “in Europe we need to tell the right stories and cultural heritage is a great tool supporting us to do so.”
The event concluded with “A Musical Journey to Cyprus”. Nicoletta Demetriou (voice), Christina Polycarpou (lyra), Simon Mercouris, (laouto) and Kyriakos Markoullis (laouto/percussion), members of the Cyprus Music Archive, performed three traditional Cypriot love songs, each introduced with brief reflections on its story and cultural significance. Blending music and storytelling, the performance offered a memorable and heartfelt ending to a day celebrating excellence, creativity and the enduring power of cultural heritage.
