Between 8 and 11 October 2025, the Forum of Slavic Cultures (FSK) celebrated the 11th edition of the Živa Award with an international conference and the announcement of the winners in Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The event was held under the auspices of Nikola Selaković, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Serbia and President of the FSK Board, who contributed a special monetary prize for the Best Slavic Heritage Site winner. The Živa Award and conference were hosted by the Municipality of Trebinje, represented by Mayor Mirko Ćurić, who provided substantial support alongside the director of the Museum of Herzegovina in Trebinje, Ivana Grujić, and several other organisers, including Sarita Vujković, director of the renowned Museum of Contemporary Art in Banja Luka and a member of the Živa Award Jury.
The fact that over 140 participants from 10 Slavic countries and 3 others took part in this event points to the vitality of the heritage community as well as the Živa Award’s growing reputation in Europe and beyond. A special highlight of this year’s Živa edition was the introduction of the new Živa Award for Best in Preserving Slavic Heritage Worldwide. This new award broadens the Živa Award’s mission beyond the borders of the Slavic countries represented by the FSK. It recognises initiatives that preserve Slavic cultural heritage and identity worldwide. Even in its first year, four museums from Italy, Hungary, and the USA competed for this new award.
Other highlights included this year’s conference, Echoes of Heritage and the Future of Museums, which featured keynote lectures from distinguished experts Alessio Mazzolotti (Italy), Sandro Debono (Malta) and Roberto Zancan (Italy/Switzerland), as well as presentations by the 32 nominated museums. These presentations showcased the vital roles these museums play in bringing cultural heritage to life. They have become living, inclusive spaces of memory, dialogue and creativity. They are advocates of remembering the past in order to shape the future, time travellers who use technology, visual interpretation and storytelling to bring history to life, chroniclers who engage communities and record our present, and visionaries who embrace innovation and identify new trends to build a more resilient and responsible future. The museums have also demonstrated an awareness of the challenges and responsibilities ahead, including digital transformation, virtual exhibitions, 3D scanning, artificial intelligence, sustainability and environmental care.
The 2025 Živa Award culminated on 10 October in Trebinje with an awards ceremony. This year, the Živa Award Jury – composed of 16 museum experts from various Slavic countries and the European Museum Academy (EMA) – honoured 13 museums from 11 countries with awards, recognitions and special diplomas.
The recipients of the Živa Awards 2025 are:
For the Best Slavic Museum – The Croatian Natural History Museum, Zagreb, Croatia, https://www.hpm.hr/
For the Best Slavic Heritage Site – NI Institute for Protection of Monuments of Culture and Museum – Ohrid, Ohrid, North Macedonia, https://muzejohrid.mk/
Honourable Mention – Lety u Písku. Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia, Písek, Czech Republic, https://letypamatnik.cz/
Special Recognitions
– for creativity – Sybir Memorial Museum, Białystok, Poland, https://sybir.bialystok.pl/
– for sustainability – House of the Halubje Bell Ringers, Viškovo, Croatia, https://khz.hr/
– for leadership and team efficiency – Regional Museum of Pljevlja, Pljevlja, Montenegro, https://muzejpljevlja.com/
– for attention to visitors and openness – Armory Museum in Liw Castle, Liw, Poland, https://liw-zamek.pl/
– for storytelling – Little Carpathian Museum in Pezinok, Pezinok, Slovakia, https://www.muzeumpezinok.sk/
Diplomas
Special Diploma of Excellence
– Žitomislić Museum, Žitomislići, Bosnia and Herzegovina, https://www.facebook.com/muzejzitomislic/
Diploma for Preserving Cultural Heritage Worldwide
– Kanizsai Dorottya Museum, Mohács, Hungary, https://www.kanizsaidorottyamuzeum.hu/
– Fisheries Museum of the Trieste Littoral, Santa Croce di Trieste, Italy, http://www.ribiski-muzej.it/
– Museum of the People of the Resia Valley, Stolvizza, Italy, https://rezija.com/
– National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA, https://ncsml.org/
The Živa Award for the Best Slavic Museum, named after the Slavic goddess Živa who symbolises life, vitality and fertility, was established in 2014 by the FSK International Foundation. It was the initiative of FSK’s director, Dr Andreja Rihter, who is also the leader of the Živa Award project. Since then, the Živa Awards for the Best Slavic Museum and the Best Slavic Heritage Site (introduced in 2018) have become a unique transnational cultural platform dedicated to promoting the protection, preservation, education, communication and social role of Slavic museums and heritage sites. Today, the network has grown into a significant Slavic community comprising almost 250 museums and heritage sites across 13 Slavic countries.
The event in Trebinje once again confirmed the exceptional vitality and cohesion of the Slavic museum community and the growing recognition of the Živa Award in Europe and around the world. We are delighted to announce that the 12th Živa Award ceremony will take place in Bled, Slovenia.
