EUROPEAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL HERITAGE PRIZE 2022

Photo: György Gábos

Sophia Labadi is awarded the European Archaeological Heritage Prize 2022 in the individual category on the following grounds:

Beyond its cultural value, heritage has the potential to address many of the challenges that society faces. Sophia Labadi has made this potential a reality with her work, both at an academic and a practical level. Scholarly, her publications are some of the essential readings in the field of heritage. In particular, her work has analysed the working of UNESCO conventions about heritage and the role of museums and heritage sites in daily life. More importantly, together with her work in the field, her contributions have played a role in shaping policy and practice aimed at a more inclusive and fairer environment, addressing the role of women in heritage and the impact of good heritage practice for social justice. Her latest work focuses on the contribution of heritage to the Sustainable Development Goals. Confronting the marginal role that heritage usually has, she used her decade of work on shaping policies for the management of cultural heritage from an inclusive and sustainable perspective that strengthens the role of local communities and benefits marginalised ones. All this was done while educating a new generation of professionals that bring these values to the core of their practices. For her commitment to improving practice in heritage management, for her valuable contributions to the field, and the impact of her work for inclusive and committed practice, Sophia Labadi is awarded the 2022 Individual Archaeological Heritage Prize of the European Association of Archaeologists.

Photo: György Gábos

AVASA/IIMAS - Engaging youngsters in cultural heritage: Urkesh One-on One program is awarded the European Archaeological Heritage Prize 2022 in the institutional category on the following grounds:

Archaeological heritage seems to be inherently valuable and positive. However, communities react to it in very different ways, and does so depending on the type and location of sites. The mediating role of professionals is essential and the potential of archaeological sites to address important issues in contemporary society is crucial. The AVASA (Association for Furthering Value Archaeology and Ancient History) has implemented the Urkesh one-onone educational program to engage youngsters (12-16 y/o) from Italy, Greece and Syria with the archaeological heritage in their vicinity. Besides the direct impact on learning and an expected support of archaeological heritage protection, this program strengthened other important values and skills that help to build a more inclusive and creative society. For its work in shaping better global citizens through archaeological heritage, bridging the gap between regions and proving the potential of good educational programs to engage with social challenges, AVASA/IIMAS is awarded the 2022 Institutional Archaeological Heritage Prize of the European Association of Archaeologists.