Alejandro Radawski Awarded the 2025 World Heritage Scholarship

The Cultural and Competence Committee at Region Gävleborg, Sweden, has decided to award the 2025 World Heritage Scholarship to Polish playwright and poet Alejandro Radawski. His poetic project connects the World Heritage Site Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland with the Historic Centre of Krakow – and was selected from among 993 applications from 100 countries.

“It’s fantastic that the World Heritage Scholarship sparks such curiosity. It weaves places together – Gävleborg reaches out to the World, and the World finds its way into Gävleborg”.

Frida Stål (Moderate Party), Chair of the Cultural and Competence Committee 

Now in its seventh year, the scholarship has attracted record levels of interest. But it was Polish playwright and poet Alejandro Radawski who caught the jury’s attention.

His project, Symphony of the Little Simple Things, is a poetic diary in which each poem reflects sensory experiences from two World Heritage Sites – the Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland in Sweden and the Historic Centre of Krakow in Poland. Through words, a journey is created that allows the reader to walk through the two cultural environments.

“That the scholarship has grown so much in seven years is fantastic – and also a challenge. Managing so many applications takes time as interest continues to grow”.

Anna-Karin Ferm, president of the World Heritage in Sweden Association and Cultural and World Heritage Development Officer at Region Gävleborg

The scholarship gives Alejandro the opportunity to stay at one of the World Heritage farmhouses for one month. He will also receive 50,000 SEK for his project, which is expected to result in a unique literary interpretation of two places with strong cultural histories.

“There is great interest in the World Heritage Site Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland all around the World. We naturally hope that the World Heritage Scholarship will gain even more international recognition going forward”.

Anna-Karin Ferm

A Growing International Success

Since its inception, the World Heritage Scholarship has gained increasing international traction. It is open to professional artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners with a connection to World Heritage – regardless of where in the World they are based. The aim is to encourage innovative thinking and create unexpected encounters between World Heritage Sites, in line with UNESCO’s intentions.

Read more at: halsingegardar.se – stipendium/residens