School of Renewal wins EUROPA NOSTRA 2026 award
The School of Renewal project, which brings together key professional and educational institutions in the field of cultural heritage protection in Slovenia, is this year's winner of the Europa Nostra European Heritage Award 2026 in the Education, Training and Skills category. This is the highest European award in the field of cultural heritage, presented by the European Commission and Europa Nostra. This year, 30 outstanding projects and individuals from 18 countries were selected from 261 entries from 40 European countries.
Among the winners is the School of Renovation, a non-formal education programme launched in 2015 on the initiative of the Association of Historic Towns of Slovenia in partnership with the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia and the Ljubljana Secondary School of Construction, Geodesy, Environmental Protection and Vocational Gymnasium. Over the years, the School of Renovation has been systematically developing the transfer of master knowledge, old crafts and skills necessary for quality renovation of heritage through education, direct work in the field, and through the networking of different disciplines and generations.
Heritage as a space for learning and participation
The School of Renovation is based on the belief that heritage cannot be preserved by norms and guidelines alone, but rather by knowledge, experience and understanding of the material, the place and its story. That is why the programme is centred on practical workshops held at heritage sites across Slovenia.
Participants - from building owners and contractors to students, pupils and children - are exposed to traditional building techniques such as lime mortar preparation, stonemasonry, dry-wall construction, timber construction and moisture remediation in buildings.
In more than 10 years of operation, some 50 workshops have been held, with more than 1,000 participants, and the programme is constantly evolving and expanding.
Mag. Staša Florjanič, Headmistress of the Secondary School of Construction, Geodesy, Environmental Protection and Professional Gymnasium Ljubljana, Miha Dešman, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Ljubljana, Jernej Hudolin, Director General of the Slovenian Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Mateja Hafner Dolenc, representative of the Association of Historic Towns of Slovenia, and Katarina Odlazek, Conservator of the ZVKDS.
Press release
