Costa Carras European Citizens Awards
for the Safeguard of Endangered Heritage 2025
EUROPA NOSTRA and ELLINIKI ETAIRIA – Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage are proud to launch
the Call for Entries for the third edition of the Costa Carras European Citizens Awards for the Safeguard of Endangered Cultural and Natural Heritage. For over 50 years, Costa Carras worked tirelessly in favour of Greece’s and Europe’s heritage to create a more sustainable, inclusive and beautiful world for future
generations. The Costa Carras European Citizens Awards celebrate the legacy of this iconic champion of Europe’s
shared heritage, and encourage citizens to engage in defence of the values he stood for
Launched in 2023, the Costa Carras European Citizens Awards are presented annually to a European citizen, a group of individuals or a civil society organisation based in Europe* for a successful and exemplary campaign to mobilise the public to save endangered heritage in their country or elsewhere in Europe. The winner of the Golden Award receives a monetary prize of €10,000 and a certificate. The winner of the Silver Award receives a
monetary prize of €5,000 and a certificate.
Applications for the third edition of the Costa Carras European Citizens Awards for the Safeguard of Endangered
Cultural and Natural Heritage can be submitted by 14 February 2025. This Application Form must be completed and sent it via email to sepi@ellinikietairia.gr and info@europanostra.org.
The applications will be examined by a Jury composed of independent experts in the fields of culture, heritage
and communication from various European countries.
The presentation Ceremony of the Costa Carras European Citizens Awards will take place in the framework of
the Delphi Economic Forum 2025 (9-12 April 2025), in the ancient city of Delphi, Greece.
The Awards were launched in 2023 by EUROPA NOSTRA and ELLINIKI ETAIRIA. The founding partners of the
Awards are the A.G. Leventis Foundation, the Delphi Economic Forum and the European Investment Bank
Institute.
The Romanian NGO “ARA – Architecture. Restoration. Archeology” was awarded the very first Costa Carras
European Citizens Award for its exemplary work mobilising citizens to promote and protect the outstanding
heritage of Roșia Montană in Romania. In 2024, Stéphane Bern, a renowned French-Luxembourgish journalist
and a prominent heritage advocate, won the Golden Award for his exemplary work in raising awareness of the
need to save heritage at risk in France and in the rest of Europe. The Jury granted the Silver Award jointly to two
NGOs, Archilochos – Cultural Association of Paros (Greece) and Haydarpaşa Solidarity for Society, City and Environment (Türkiye), for successfully organising local citizens movements to promote and preserve their cultural and natural heritage. Find out more
More information
COSTA CARRAS
Costa Carras (1938-2022) was a visionary conservationist, an eminent historian and scholar as well as a
distinguished businessman, a humanist and an idealist – a true Greek and a true European. He became VicePresident of Europa Nostra in 1976. Under his guidance, Europa Nostra built a truly pan-European heritage
movement based on fundamental human rights and shared European values. Perhaps his most enduring legacy
is the work of ELLINIKI ETAIRIA, which he founded with his wife Lydia Carras in 1972.
EUROPA NOSTRA
Europa Nostra is the European voice of civil society committed to safeguarding and promoting cultural and
natural heritage. It is a pan-European federation of heritage NGOs, supported by a wide network of public
bodies, private companies and individuals, covering over 40 countries. It is the most representative heritage
network in Europe, maintaining close relations with the European Union, the Council of Europe, UNESCO and
other international bodies. Founded in 1963, Europa Nostra celebrated its 60th anniversary last year.
Europa Nostra campaigns to save Europe’s endangered monuments, sites and landscapes, in particular through
the 7 Most Endangered Programme. It celebrates and disseminates excellence through the European Heritage
Awards / Europa Nostra Awards. Europa Nostra actively contributes to the definition and implementation of
European strategies and policies related to heritage, through a participatory dialogue with European Institutions
and the coordination of the European Heritage Alliance.
Europa Nostra has led the European consortium selected by the European Commission to run the European
Heritage Hub pilot project (2023-2025). It is also an official partner of the New European Bauhaus initiative
developed by the European Commission, and is a leading European member and supporter of the Climate Heritage Network.
ELLINIKI ETAIRIA – Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage
ELLINIKI ETAIRIA – Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET) – a non-profit, non-governmental
association – has been fighting since 1972 for the protection of the environment and our cultural heritage.
ELLET’s action covers 3 main axes: a) Conservation/restoration projects of cultural heritage and natural
environment; b) Institutional interventions to safeguard our common heritage (documented studies and
proposals to policy-makers): for coastal and forest protection, tourism planning, carrying capacity,
environmental tax reform and adaptation to climate change. c) Awareness raising and education on natural and
human-made environment issues, with programs at all levels.
ELLET is the Country Representation of Europa Nostra in Greece and cooperates with the Council of Europe, the
European Union, UNESCO, the European Environmental Bureau and other bodies.
ELLET received the European Citizen Award 2012 (European Parliament) and the Athens Academy Awards in
2002 “for 50 years of continuous and successful actions to protect our cultural heritage and the environment of
Greece “.
CONTACTS
EUROPA NOSTRA
Joana Pinheiro
jp@europanostra.org, +31 6 34 36 59 85 / www.europanostra.org
ELLINIKI ETAIRIA
Katerina Stebili
sepi@ellinikietairia.gr, +30 210 32 25 245