Georgian NGO recognised with Europe’s top award in heritage
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A project for preserving the legacy of Georgia’s traditional crafts has been named among winners of this year’s prestigious prize from Europe’s leading cultural heritage organisation Europa Nostra.
The Heritage Crafts Initiative by the Georgian Arts and Culture Centre was revealed among 29 selected laureates from 18 European countries for the 2017 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards on Wednesday.
The initiative was honoured with the award for Education, Training and Awareness-Raising in preserving the knowledge of crafting in Georgia.
This ambitious programme safeguards Georgia’s unique traditional crafts and ensures the transmission of artisanal skills to the next generation of craftspeople by creating links between masters of the crafts and young apprentices.”
The jury notes this international training programme, supported by EU funds, has unprecedented scope for Georgia”, said a release by Europa Nostra.
The 29 winning laureates of 2017 Europa Nostra awards were picked by independent expert judges from 202 submissions by organisations and individuals from 39 countries.
Other laureates include international projects such as the educational program on the Jewish cultural heritage at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland and the renovation of the ancient city of Karthaia on the Greek Island of Kea.
The winners of the 2017 prize received praise from officials and hosts of Europa Nostra awards following the unveiling of the laureates.
2017 winners of EU Prize 4 Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards @TNavracsicsEU@PlacidoDomingo@europe_creativehttps://t.co/l2FOeg5zAZpic.twitter.com/U07JwacFRX
— Europa Nostra (@europanostra) April 5, 2017
[The winning projects’] achievements demonstrate once again how engaged many Europeans are in protecting and safeguarding their cultural heritage. Their projects highlight the significant role of cultural heritage in our lives and our society”, said Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.
All our winners demonstrate that heritage is a key tool for sustainable economic development, social cohesion and a more inclusive Europe”, said Placido Domingo, famous opera singer and President of Europa Nostra.
Navracsics and Domingo will co-host the high-profile awards ceremony honouring the laureates at St. Michael’s Church in Turku, Finland on May 15.
The occasion is expected to be attended by around 1,200 guests including heritage professionals, volunteers and representatives of European Union institutions.
The judges praised the Georgian Arts and Culture Centre’s initiative for creating links between crafts masters and their apprentices. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
In addition to their recognition within the annual awards, the laureate projects are also the subject of an online vote for the Europa Nostra Public Choice Award.
Visitors of the official website are able to select three projects for the poll through May 3, with the eventual winner revealed during the awards ceremony in Turku.
The Georgian Arts and Culture Centre’s Heritage Crafts Initiative involved carrying out a European Union-funded social and economic study of the traditional crafts field in Georgia over the last five years.
The study resulted in recommendations and action plan for developing the field, with the initiative also involving hundreds of trainings and master classes for over 300 artisans in the country, said the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia.
Within the initiative, 22 artisan workshops were opened in Georgia’s regions and capital of Tbilisi, with artisans employed at the venues taking up the responsibility of transferring their knowledge to the younger generation.
The Georgian crafts masters work to create items in varying forms. Photo: Europa Nostra.
Established in 1995, the Georgian Arts and Culture Centre works to "preserve, develop and promote” the country’s artistic and cultural legacy.
The Centre has also represented Europa Nostra in Georgia since 2016, when the country joined the European organisation’s international network.
To achieve its goals of heritage preservation, the local NGO runs four programs dedicated to Cultural Heritage, Traditional Crafts and Cultural Industries, Exhibitions and Activities, and International Initiative for Georgian Cultural Studies.
Uniting 400 member organisations and 1,500 individual members from about 50 countries, Europa Nostra works to "save Europe’s endangered historic monuments, sites and cultural landscapes”, as well as staging annual awards recognising achievements in cultural preservation.
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