4) Citizens Engagement & Awareness-raising

Pavlos Chatzigrigoriou is a Civil Engineer specialising in heritage preservation and digital cultural heritage. He holds a Master’s in Protection, Conservation and Restoration of Monuments, a Master’s in Environmental Planning, a PhD in Architecture (Digital Cultural Heritage), and a postdoctoral fellowship in Digital Heritage at the University of the Aegean. In 2015, his project HERMeS received the European Heritage Award/Europa Nostra Award and was recognised by the Council of Europe as a Best Practice for Strategy 2021.

He teaches Digital Cultural Heritage at the University of the Aegean, serves as chair of the Selection Committee of the European Heritage Awards in the category of Citizens’ Engagement and Awareness-Raising, and co-founded the NGO Heritage Management e-Society (HERMeS). He is also Chairman of the Syros Institute’s Board, Project Officer for EU Funding in the South Aegean Region and, since 2024, Managing Director of the Historical Museum of Hermoupolis, where he develops inclusive initiatives positioning the museum as a centre for knowledge and cultural heritage in Syros.

Simon O’Connor is a composer and the founding Director of the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI), a partnership between University College Dublin and the National Library of Ireland. Under his leadership, MoLI has received the European Heritage Award/Europa Nostra Award (Grand Prix, 2023), the Business to Arts Award for Best Philanthropic Support of the Arts (2021), as well as multiple design awards, and was shortlisted for both the European Museum of the Year Award and the European Mies van der Rohe Architecture Award.

He was also the founding curator of the Little Museum of Dublin, which was awarded a European Heritage Award in 2016. Combining artistic vision with organisational leadership, he develops engaging cultural experiences that strengthen public appreciation of Ireland’s literary heritage.

Marine Mizandari has co-chaired the National Trust of Georgia since 2017. With 30 years of professional experience, her career spans scientific research, senior management, and heritage project implementation across Georgia and Europe.

She served as Deputy Minister of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia (2012–2014) and has advised the government on strategic heritage policies. Marine combines scientific expertise with policy experience to strengthen cultural heritage management and public engagement, supporting initiatives that preserve and promote Georgia’s heritage.

Flora Bacquelaine Vidal de Llobatera holds a PhD in Humanities, Heritage and Cultural Studies. Her work integrates cultural management, project evaluation, university teaching and research in cultural studies. She coordinated the Culture and Tourism Commissions of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) Euroregió Pirineus-Mediterrània until 2024.

She currently contributes to the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya’s research project “Franco’s Regionalism from Catalonia: Centripetal Practices and Discourses” (PID2021-125227NB-I00) and serves as a collaborating lecturer in the Master’s Degree in Cultural Management at UOC-UdG. Flora’s career bridges academic research and practical cultural policy, supporting initiatives that promote heritage awareness and public engagement.

Vincent Curie was born in 1975 and has over 20 years of experience in EU project management, specialising in civic engagement, democratisation and culture. He is Director of the European Heritage Label Bureau, overseeing projects that promote heritage recognition and European identity.

Vincent has worked across both the public and private sectors, gaining experience in diverse operational approaches. He participates in European and national heritage boards and committees, and has contributed to the evaluation of heritage projects, awards and grants.

Marc Wingens was born in 1964 and studied Cultural History at Utrecht University, earning his PhD from Erasmus University Rotterdam in 1994. He became Director of Erfgoed Gelderland in 2006, supporting around 260 heritage organisations in the Dutch province through consultancy, advocacy and capacity building.

Marc serves as a Council Member of Europa Nostra, sits on the board of OPEN, and participates in national heritage boards. He has contributed to heritage awards and grant evaluations, including the Gelderse Roos Prize, the Brabant Heritage Award and the Mondriaan Fund. Together with his husband, Rudolf Burggraaf, he has promoted heritage awareness among UNESCO school students since 2017.

Deniz Özdiren was born in 1998 and is an emerging heritage professional from Cyprus, currently completing her Master’s in World Heritage Studies in Germany. With a background in architecture, she has expertise in conservation, adaptive reuse, community engagement and heritage storytelling.

She has co-organised heritage projects across Cyprus, Italy, Romania and Germany, serves as a coordination member of ESACH, and volunteered for five years with the bi-communal Technical Committee of Cultural Heritage in Cyprus as a Heritage Youth Ambassador. Deniz brings a thoughtful perspective to the Selection Committee, supporting the recognition of exemplary European heritage initiatives.

He is a member of the European Students’ Association for Cultural Heritage (ESACH) and a Young Member of Europa Nostra.