UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes

The 2025 Call for nominations UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes is open

Nominations are now open.
Deadline for submission: 30 April 2025 (midnight Paris time, UTC +2).

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The UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes was created in 1995 to reward outstanding examples of action to safeguard and enhance the world’s cultural landscapes.

The Prize, generously supported by the Government of Greece, bears the name of Melina Mercouri, former Minister of Culture of Greece and a strong advocate of integrated conservation.

The US$30,000 Prize is awarded every two years to one laureate.

Selection Criteria and Process

Who may submit nominations for the Prize?

  • A self-nomination cannot be considered;
  • Government agencies of UNESCO Member States, in consultation with their National Commissions for UNESCO;
  • NGOs in official partnerships with UNESCO;
  • International, regional and national professional, academic and non-governmental organizations active in the field of cultural landscapes;
  • It is not necessary for a cultural landscape to be inscribed on the World Heritage List to be eligible for the Prize;
  • Candidatures relating to sites nominated for possible inscription on the World Heritage List may not be submitted in the same year in which the nomination dossier is examined by the World Heritage Committee.

Who is eligible?

Individuals, institutions, other entities, communities or non-governmental organizations (in official partnerships with UNESCO or not) that have made a significant contribution to the safeguarding, management and enhancement of the world’s major cultural landscapes.

How to apply?

Applications must be submitted only through the online application, accessible though the link below.

Apply

Introduction leaflet of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes

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Statutes of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes

EnglishFrench

The UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes was created in 1995 to reward outstanding examples of action to safeguard and enhance the world’s cultural landscapes.

  • The Prize, generously supported by the Government of Greece, bears the name of Melina Mercouri, former Minister of Culture of Greece and a strong advocate of integrated conservation.
  • The US$30,000 Prize is awarded every two years to one laureate. The last Prize was awarded in November 2023, on the sidelines of the 43st session of UNESCO’s General Conference. Nominations for the 2025 edition are currently invited until 30 April 2025.
Watch a presentation of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes

What is a Cultural Landscape?

Building on the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, cultural landscapes are defined as the combined works of nature and people and embody a long-lasting, profound and intimate relationship between people and their natural environment. Whether in urban or rural settings, they are all the fruits of diverse interactions between people and nature, and thus serve as a living testimony to the evolution of societies in relation to their habitat.

Lake Condah, Budj Bim cultural Landscape (Australia) © Gunditj Mirring
Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation

Some cultural landscapes are designed and created intentionally by humans (such as garden and parkland landscapes), while others evolve organically over time. In some cases, the evolutionary process is ‘fossilised‘ in material form (such as those found in prehistoric caves and rock shelters), while others continue to evolve and play an active role in contemporary society (such as cultivated terraces). Some cultural landscapes are considered sacred, especially in places where people have strong cultural, religious and often ancestral ties to their natural environment.

Why are cultural landscapes important?

Cultural landscapes can provide a range of resources and services to the communities with which they are associated. In concrete terms, this enhances people’s well-being and livelihoods, leading to improved food security, access to clean water, construction and basic raw materials, medicinal plants and employment opportunities.

They maintain a rich biological and agricultural diversity, particularly through traditional forms of land use, which helps local people adapt to climate change and mitigate disaster risks. This is done in part through the use of traditional knowledge and practices based on a deep understanding of our natural environment, which builds community resilience.

In addition to the ecosystem services that cultural landscapes provide in practical terms for human life, they are also an asset for safeguarding and enhancing cultural diversity. By maintaining cultural and spiritual links with the natural environment and connecting past, present and future generations, cultural landscapes are a resource for strengthening social cohesion. 

Kozjansko Park in Podsreda (Slovenia) © Kozjansko Park Public Institute, Podsreda | Matevž Lenarčič

What kind of challenges are they facing?

Cultural landscapes often face severe degradation due to unplanned infrastructure development, uncontrolled urbanisation and poor planning, unsustainable modernisation of land-use techniques or unsustainable forms of tourism, or pollution. They are also affected by the worsening climate crisis, which increases the risk of disasters.

Depopulation, ageing populations and changes in traditional lifestyles and knowledge systems also pose serious threats to the survival of cultural landscapes, which are at risk of being abandoned and increasingly lack the people to manage them.


Laureates

2023 edition

The Gunditjmara community was awarded the 2023 edition of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes in recognition of its outstanding efforts to safeguard and manage the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape (Australia). UNESCO celebrated the laureate at an official award ceremony on the sidelines of the 42nd session of UNESCO’s General Conference, in the presence of Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture and Sport of Greece, and Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO.

The Laureate The ceremony

2023 Ceremony © UNESCO

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A self-nomination cannot be considered.
  • Government agencies of UNESCO Member States, in consultation with their National Commissions for UNESCO;
  • NGOsin official partnerships with UNESCO;
  • International, regional and national professional, academic and non-governmental organizations active in the field of cultural landscapes.

The Prize may be awarded to individuals, institutions, other entities or non-governmental organizations that have made a significant contribution to the safeguarding, management and enhancement of the world's major cultural landscapes.

Applications must be submitted in English or French via the online application form available on Prize’s dedicated webpage. Submissions and materials received through any other mediums will not be considered.

The Prize recognises efforts to safeguard all cultural landscapes including but not limited to those inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Letters of endorsement are not a mandatory component of the application documentation. However, letters of endorsement from relevant entities are welcomed and can be included in the final section of the application form.

While there are no restrictions on how the awarded US$30,000 may be used, considering the overall objectives of the Prize, the laureate is encouraged to use this sum to strengthen ongoing efforts to safeguard and manage cultural landscapes.

There is no limit to the number of applications nominated per country.


Cultural Landscapes contributing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes seeks to promote the importance of integrated conservation and sustainable management of cultural landscapes, as advocated by Melina Mercouri. Enhanced safeguarding and management of cultural landscapes can contribute significantly to sustainable development and thus to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

2.4
Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices
6.6
Protect and restore water-related ecosystem
8.9
Promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products
11.4
Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cutltural and natural heritage
12.2
Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
13.1
Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
14.2, 14.7
Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5
Ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services
16
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development

Partners

The initiative is supported on a global level by the generous contribution of the Hellenic Republic.


Contact us

UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes

UNESCO
7 place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP France
e-mail: melinamercouriprize@unesco.org

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