The winners have been announced - 1st place in the European "Wiki Loves Living Heritage" photo competition goes to Austria
In honour of the twentieth anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, a global campaign called "Wiki Loves Living Heritage" was launched in March 2023. 1700 photos were uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, focusing on the various forms of safeguarding living heritage across Europe. The winners of the competition come from Austria, Germany and Finland.
Renate Stigler took first place for Austria with her photo of the intangible cultural heritage element "In d'Grean gehn - An Outing in the Greenery"!
The competition was held under the motto "Safeguarding Living Heritage". With this campaign, the European Network of Focal Points for the 2003 Convention (ENFP) wanted not only to document living heritage, but also to highlight the immense importance of the people who work to safeguard, transmit and protect our common human heritage. The competition aimed to highlight the bearers of heritage, the practitioners, the different communities involved and the different methods used in the practice and transmission of intangible cultural heritage.
The Wiki Loves Living Heritage photo competition was a community-based initiative that combined online and on-site activities and involved actors from sectors related to intangible heritage, including NGOs, museums, promoters, photographers and many more.
The collection of photos resulting from this competition serves as a valuable resource for the documentation and safeguarding of European intangible heritage. All the photos that participated in the competition are now available for free use via Wikimedia Commons.
1st place goes to Austria
"In d’Grean gehen – An Outing in the Greenery" by Renate Stigler / Fotografinrenate
(Kopie 2)
The element "In d'Grean gehn - An Outing in the Greenery", which has been listed in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2019, is depicted. On Easter Monday, the northern Weinviertel region’s winemakers invite people to the various cellar lanes ("Kellertrift") for an “outing in the greenery” (referred to as "in d’Grean gehen" or "Grean geh") to enjoy food & drink. This particular type of outing, which is practised in several of this region’s communities, is characterised by regionally specific religious and secular elements.
According to the expert jury, the 1st place was awarded for the "harmonious colours of the photo, which bring together nature and human interaction in bright yellow tones. The photo portrays the social aspect of the practice well by highlighting sharing and preservation of a cultural heritage through community efforts. The photo also stood out in the "Wiki loves Safeguarding Living Heritage in Europe" campaign as it illustrates the preservation of traditional knowledge and practices related to nature and our natural environment."
The winner, Renate Stigler on her motivation for submitting and composing her photo:
"For me, the photo expresses the winemaker Markus Pfalz's love for his profession, but also for nature and the environment. For me, it was important to skilfully bring this interplay between down-to-earth work and the imparting of knowledge onto the picture. Raising people's awareness of regionalism, handicrafts and agricultural work is more important than ever, especially nowadays. "In d'Grean gehn - An Outing in the Greenery" has always been an appreciative custom that has also found its way into tourism. My photo is meant to express how important, especially in the highly technological world, it is to have a personal togetherness, to say thank you and to share a common experience."
We would like to thank all participants who submitted photos, videos or audio recordings to the competition and whose contributions have significantly expanded the media collection on elements of Europe's intangible cultural heritage on Wikipedia.
The other winning photos and general information about the competition can be found at Wiki Loves Living Heritage/European photo contest/Winners
Banner for the Campaign "Wiki Loves Living Heritage"
© Susanna Ånäs
The winning photo by Renate Stigler
© Fotografinrenate
