Din l-Art Ħelwa scoops top European heritage award

Din l-Art Ħelwa was on Thursday crowned the overall heritage champion at an award ceremony organised by the European Union and Europa Nostra in Cyprus.

The heritage NGO was one of four that bagged an award in the Heritage Champions category of this year's European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards.

In all, 30 projects and 'champions' from 18 countries won an award. The winners were selected by a jury composed of 10 heritage experts upon evaluation of all applications by five committees. A total of 261 eligible applications to this year’s awards were submitted by organisations and individuals from 40 European countries.

The 30 winners were split into five categories: Conservation and Adaptive Reuse, Research, Education, Training and Skills, Citizens’ Engagement and Awareness-raising and Heritage Champions.

Din l-Art Ħelwa was crowned the best out of the four awarded the Heritage Champions honour, winning the overall Grand Prix in the category. 

Europa Nostra is a leading pan-European civil society organisation dedicated to safeguarding and promoting Europe's cultural and natural heritage.

Representing hundreds of member organisations and millions of citizens, it acts as a watchdog for threatened monuments and celebrates excellence in heritage conservation.

Its Heritage Champions category honours individuals and organisations that have made an exemplary contribution to heritage protection through sustained commitment, leadership and public engagement.

This year, the award recognised Din l-Art Ħelwa’s six decades of voluntary dedication to the protection, restoration, and advocacy of Malta’s cultural and natural heritage.

Since its founding in 1965, the organisation has restored over 60 national monuments and works of art, campaigned for landmark heritage legislation, and currently holds eighteen sites in guardianship – from medieval chapels and coastal towers, to a lighthouse and historic cemeteries and gardens.  

Din l-Art Ħelwa delegates in front of the Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Cyprus.

Reacting, DLĦ's executive president said Europa Nostra's recognition is a tribute to every volunteer, member and supporter who, for 60 years, refused to stand by while our heritage was neglected or threatened.

"I was proud to share our story in Nicosia and deeply moved to see Simone Mizzi, whose own contribution to DLĦ and Malta has been extraordinary, accept this honour on behalf of us all.”

Mizzi added: “DLĦ has always believed that heritage is not about the past alone – it is about community, continuity and the courage to act. My father believed strongly that ordinary citizens, volunteers, could safeguard Malta's heritage".

"This Heritage Champions Award belongs to all those volunteers who have come before us and given their time freely to the protection of Malta’s heritage and the environment. It is also the right moment to thank those generous supporters who made our work possible over the last sixty years."  

Held in the presence of Cyprus' President Nico Christodoulides, the award ceremony was held during the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2026, hosted in Nicosia under the motto Heritage as the Soul of Mare Nostrum and under the patronage of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union.    

The European Heritage Awards/Europa Nostra Awards are co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.