The Forum of Slavic Cultures (FSK) awarded the Živa Awards for the best Slavic museums for the tenth time at its annual congress in Gabrovo, Bulgaria. The Živa Award for the best Slavic museum went to the Regional History Museum of Ruse in Bulgaria, while the Živa Award for the best Slavic heritage site was given to Bled Castle.
ChatGPT said: The award was personally received in Gabrovo by the director of the Bled Culture Institute, Mag. Lea Ferjan:
"On this occasion, I would like to thank the team I worked with on preparing the application, for the professional presentation of Bled Castle to the international jury in June, and for the conference presentation, which was carried out with the desire and energy to dispel any remaining doubts with the commission that the statue of the Slavic goddess of life truly deserves to be awarded to Bled Castle. They say it's important to participate. I would add that winning is beautiful and sweet."
Bled Castle with a new opportunity for international recognition
In early 2024, the Bled Culture Institute began preparing the application for Bled Castle for the Forum of Slavic Cultures' call, led by Dr. Andreja Rihter, in the category of the best cultural and natural monument in Slavic countries. As emphasized by the FSK, the aim of the Živa Award for the best Slavic museum and the best Slavic cultural and natural monument is "to recognize, encourage, reward, and promote experiments, projects, and practices in the museum sector within the unique cultural and geographic framework of the European Slavic nations, as well as to recognize the particularities and special values of the Slavic world with its stories, traditions, heritage, shared and sometimes very different roots, as well as challenges."
The international jury and evaluation process
The member countries of the FSK appoint judges from each country, and the European Museum Academy also contributes three or four experts. The jury consists of 14 members from various backgrounds – including museum directors, curators, marketing specialists, and cultural management advisors. A unique feature of the Živa Award is the personal visit to all the registered and nominated museums, which allows for in-depth evaluation focused on the creative use of collections and innovative interpretation. In June, Bled Castle was visited by the jury, which included Dr. Lidija Nikočević from Croatia and Dirk Houtgraaf from the Netherlands.
The tenth anniversary of the Živa Award and Slovenian candidates
The tenth professional meeting for the Živa Award ceremony took place from September 25 to 27 in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, known for its open-air ETAR museum. The project was also supported by Slovenian cultural institutions, including the Ministry of Culture. Twenty museums from ten countries competed for the awards, including three from Slovenia: the Loški Museum of Škofja Loka, the Museum of Recent History in Celje, and Bled Castle.
Award recipients and reactions
The Regional History Museum of Ruse from Bulgaria received the Živa 2024 Award for the best Slavic museum, while Bled Castle was awarded the prize for the best Slavic heritage site. The Bećarac Museum from Croatia was honored for the promotion of intangible cultural heritage, and the Museum of Recent History in Celje received a special recognition for the "Pelikan Photography House" project. At the award ceremony, Slovenian representatives expressed their joy at the recognitions, which was also highlighted by Mag. Lea Ferjan. The success was celebrated by the Ministry of Culture, ZVKD Kranj, the National Museum of Slovenia, the Municipality of Bled, and the Public Institution Bled Tourism.