The Živa Award honors excellence in Slavic museums, cultural and natural heritage sites, and efforts to preserve Slavic heritage worldwide. It recognizes, encourages, and rewards innovative projects, practices, and experiments within the museum sector, considering the unique cultural and geographical context of Slavic nations in Europe. The award highlights the distinctiveness and shared values of the Slavic world—its stories, traditions, and heritage—while acknowledging both its common roots and diverse historical challenges.
ŽIVA Award – Conference on Slavic Heritage and Innovations in Museology
This year’s ŽIVA Awards ceremony, held on October 10 in Trebinje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, brought many new features and highlighted the outstanding achievements of museums and institutions dedicated to preserving Slavic heritage. The main winners were the Croatian Museum of ...
The Winners of the Živa 2025 Award
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 ...
Živa Award Ceremony on 8-12 October 25 in Trebinje
The Forum of Slavic Cultures (FSK) is delighted to announce the 11th edition of the Živa Awards and Conference. For over a decade, the Živa Award has celebrated outstanding achievements in preserving and promoting Slavic cultural heritage, while building a ...
The number of Slavic museums and cultural and natural monuments making an impact on local and national levels is staggering—and continues to grow each day. While this expansion is admirable, it is equally important that these experiences are shared, recognized, and appreciated.
The Živa Prize was established to promote the protection, conservation, education, and interpretation of museum collections and cultural and natural heritage. It serves as a platform for exchange and promotion across Slavic countries and the broader European area, showcasing creativity, innovation, accessibility, and social impact. By celebrating institutions that push the boundaries of museology, the Živa Prize contributes to the ongoing evolution of museum practices and cultural heritage engagement.
Rene Capovin / Italy, Director, Museum of Industry and Labour of Brescia
Maja Chankulovska Mihajlovska / North Macedonia, Senior Curator, National Gallery of Macedonia, Skopje
Ekaterina Djoumalieva / Bulgaria
Director of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Museums, and Visual Arts, Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria
Dr Pavel Douša / Czech Republic, Deputy Director General, National Museum of Agriculture, Prague; Director, Kačina Château
Olha Honchar / Ukraine, Director, Memorial Museum of Totalitarian Regimes “Territory of Terror”, Lviv
Dirk Houtgraaf / Netherlands, Strategic Marketing Consultant, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science)
Neda Knežević, MA / Serbia, Director, Museum of Yugoslavia, Belgrade
Massimo Negri / Italy, Scientific Director, European Museum Academy Foundation
Dr Lidija Nikočević / Croatia, Independent Researcher and Curator
Branislav Panis / Slovak Republic, Director, The National Bank of Slovakia – Museum of Coins and Medals in Kremnica
Dr Andreja Rihter / Slovenia, Director, Forum of Slavic Cultures
Elia Vlachou, DEA / Greece, Deputy Director and Head of Projects, Development & Networking, Cultural Foundation of the National Bank
Dobrila Vlahović, MSc / Montenegro, Director General, Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture and Media of Montenegro
Dr Sarita Vujković / Bosnia and Hercegovina, Director, Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska
Karolina Nina Zdravič, MA / Slovenia, Museum Councillor
Robert Zydel / Poland, Director, Chocolate Factory E. Wedel
The member countries of the Forum of Slavic Cultures appoint judges from each participating nation. Additionally, the European Academy of Museums contributes three to four experts from its own network. In total, the judging panel comprises 13 to 14 members, representing diverse professional backgrounds, including museum directors, cultural management consultants, curators, public relations specialists, and marketing experts in the museum sector.
Ekaterina Djoumalieva, Bulgaria
Director of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Museums, and Visual Arts, Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria
Dr. Pavel Douša, Czech Republic
Deputy Director General, National Agriculture Museum, Prague
Olha Honchar, Ukraine
Director, Memorial Museum of Totalitarian Regimes “Territory of Terror”
Dirk Houtgraaf, Netherlands
Strategic Marketing Consultant, Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science)
Neda Knežević, MA, Serbia
Director, Museum of Yugoslavia, Belgrade
Dr. Lidija Nikočević, Croatia
Senior curator
Gordan Nikolov, MSc, North Macedonia
Curator advisor, Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia
Dr. Andreja Rihter, Slovenia
Director, Forum of Slavic Cultures
Dobrila Vlahović, MSc, Montenegro
Director-General of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture and Media of Montenegro
Elia Vlachou, DEA, Greece
Deputy Director, Head of Projects, Development & Networking Cultural Foundation of the National Bank
Branislav Panis, Slovak Republic
Museum Curator
The Slovak National Museum, Museum of History at Bratislava Castle
Karolina Nina Zdravič, MA, Slovenia
Museum Councilor
Dr. Sarita Vujković, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Director, Museum of Contemporary Art of the Republic of Srpska
Robert Zydel, Poland
Director of Chocolate Factory E. Wedel
Participation is free of charge. Applications for the Best Slavic Museum and the Best Slavic Heritage Site are open to candidates from the following countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. There are no geographical restrictions for the Award for Best in Preserving Slavic Heritage Worldwide.
Applications for the Best Slavic Museum are welcome from museums of all types and sizes, including: history, contemporary history, war memorials and museums, natural history, technology, art museums and galleries, industrial museums, science, technology and interpretation centres, ethnographic, architecture, design, literature, music, university and other types. Museums may be local, regional, national, federal, municipal, community-based, specialised or private, long-established or recently founded
Applications for the Best Slavic Heritage Site are accepted from a wide variety of heritage sites, such as: historical buildings and structures, ensembles of monuments, architectural works, archaeological sites, cultural and natural museum reserves and sites, revitalised or reconstructed industrial buildings and areas used for museum and cultural purposes, as well as combined works of man and nature such as gardens and parks – heritage sites of exceptional historical, artistic, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value.
The Živa Award for the Best in Preserving Slavic Heritage Worldwide is open to applications from various Slavic museums, memorial houses or spaces abroad, including those in the diaspora and cross-border regions of the FSK member countries; Slavic societies and national houses abroad; and other institutions and community associations around the world. These applicants should illustrate the sharing of collective memory and demonstrate various aspects of national or ethnic cultural identity through events and activities, Slavic artefacts, traditions, publications and other initiatives, highlighting specific examples of the preservation of Slavic cultural identity and heritage abroad and the extent of their links with their countries of origin.
The selection procedure begins with the publication of an international call for proposals. Applications and promotional activities are carried out with the assistance of an international jury. The first half of the year is dedicated to evaluating the applications and deciding on the awards.
Once the complete applications are submitted, the judges visit the participating museums. Afterwards, they meet to review the reports, exchange expert evaluations, and decide on the winners of the awards and special mentions.
This is followed by the organisation of the award ceremony and accompanying events, which have gradually evolved into a professional gathering offering an opportunity for knowledge exchange.
The Živa Award cycle concludes in September with the award ceremony and a three-day expert meeting.
“Fertility, tradition, and excellence are the values that have shaped the new design of the Živa plaques.
The choice of materials – clay, gold, and silver – seemed almost self-evident. The form is simple: a clay, earthen base carries a silver-cast ear of grain. One kernel has fallen and been sown anew. This grain is cast in gold. The base itself is made of clays in two tones, which together form the Slavic symbol known as Belobog, meaning “White God.”
The repertoire of Slavic mythological symbols is fascinating; highly abstracted geometric signs which, in pre-Christian times, represented deities and forces that governed life. Belobog symbolizes light, prosperity, and a bountiful harvest.
The combination of an earthen base and precious metals forms an unusual bridge between the primal and elemental on one side, and the refined and sophisticated on the other.
“The plaque is designed to be displayed either as a freestanding object or mounted vertically on the wall.”
Maja Licul, Designer
Coming soon
The Forum of Slavic Cultures (FSK) is pleased to announce the opening of applications for the Živa Awards 2025, a prestigious recognition...
Registration is now open for the ŽIVA conference and awards ceremony. The Forum of Slavic Cultures is pleased to announce that this...
More than just an award, the Živa Award serves as a vital transnational cultural platform, fostering dialogue, communication, and networking among museum professionals. It promotes the exchange of ideas and experiences, integrates public engagement in museum activities, and encourages innovation, creativity, cooperation, and inclusion within the cultural sector.
