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Event honours Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage for getting Europa Nostra Award

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An event marking the occasion of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage (TCCH) being awarded the 2021 European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award and the Grand Prix Laureate in the category for “Dedicated Service to Heritage by Organisations and Individuals” was held at the Home for Cooperation on Monday, with speakers praising the work of the TCCH.

The event celebrated the TCCH having been selected from amongst exemplary heritage achievements across Europe to receive the region`s top honour in the field of conservation projects, a UNDP press release said.

In attendance at the event were diplomatic corps, Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage and Europa Nostra members, representatives from the European Commission, UN and UNDP as well as TCCH’s Heritage Youth Ambassadors who have been volunteering to engage and promote the preservation of cultural heritage In Cyprus.

Congratulating the TCCH, Myrto Zambarta, Head of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, said the bicommunal Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage remains a key component of the reconciliation and confidence-building actions supported by the EU in Cyprus”.

The Committee’s work, she said, centres cultural heritage as a powerful tool for peaceful cooperation and for the creation of a climate of reconciliation.”

Jakhongir Khaydarov, UNDP’s Head of Office expressed his appreciation for TCCH and thanked the committee for entrusting UNDP with the implementation of over 80 projects thus far. “We stand before you today as proud partners”, he added.

Naciye Doratli, Member of Europa Nostra commended TCCH and spoke about cultural heritage as seeking “to promote a positive vision of cultural diversity, highlighting it as a source of innovation, dialogue, and peace”.

Andriel Vassilou, Senior Vice President of Europa Nostra, highlighted that, “by awarding the Grand Prix to the TCCH we wanted to pass on a strong message: that people of different language, religion and culture can and should try to overcome their differences and work together for the common good and that cultural heritage is the glue that unites people, both among local communities and across borders.”

Takis Hadjidemetriou, Co-chairman of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage spoke about the work of TCCH saying that, “If the Technical Committee has been working constructively for so many years, we owe it mainly to the spirit of honesty and trust that, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, have established between us, far from any expediencies or controversies, with only concern for Cyprus and its monuments.”

Ali Tuncay, Co-chairman of of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage said “Cyprus is an island at the crossroads of three continents. Traditions and customs of all these civilisations, like Mycenaean, Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman left their mark on almost all parts of the island. Both the mosque and the church are ours. As the members of the Technical Committee, we acknowledge the responsibility and duty of preserving this richness and handing it over to future generations.”

Since 2012, 88 cultural heritage sites island‐wide have been conserved, structurally supported, physically protected or restored by TCCH and UNDP, with funding from the EU.

Approximately €22.4 million have been provided by the European Commission to implement the priorities of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage for the preservation of the island‐wide cultural heritage in Cyprus. The European Union is the biggest supporter of the work of the Technical Committee on Cultural Heritage in Cyprus.

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