Within the framework of the EUROPEAN HERITAGE DAYS 2026 project, implemented with the support of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports,
the Media Center of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna announces
a public competition
YOUTH AND HERITAGE
COMPETITION FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL PUPILS AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN THE FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
“YOUNG GUARDIANS OF HERITAGE: BRING THE PAST TO LIFE, CREATE THE FUTURE”
Theme: “Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine”
1. OBJECTIVE OF THE “YOUTH AND HERITAGE” PROGRAMME
The essence of the creative programme for young people within the European Heritage Days event is to encourage young people to preserve, explore and promote the cultural and historical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to raise awareness of the importance of tangible and intangible heritage as a foundation of community identity.
The programme invites young people to use creative, investigative and contemporary approaches to discover the wealth of local traditions, customs, stories, skills and cultural values that have shaped society throughout history, and to become active participants in preserving them for future generations.
Particular emphasis is placed on recognising cultural heritage that is endangered, forgotten or insufficiently known, and on finding new and creative ways to present it and bring it closer to younger generations.
2. EXPLANATION OF THE THEME
This year’s European Heritage Days theme, “Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine,” focuses on recognising, documenting and preserving endangered forms of cultural heritage.
Many customs, crafts, legends, songs, folk tales and family memories are disappearing today under the influence of rapid social change. Certain forms of tradition are being passed down from one generation to the next less and less frequently, and as they disappear, valuable testimony about the lives, knowledge and creativity of our ancestors is lost as well.
3. SPECIAL MOTIF OF THE COMPETITION
“Echoes of Heritage: Stories That Must Not Disappear”
Across all competition categories, particular encouragement is given to the exploration and presentation of endangered traditions, customs, folk tales, local legends, festivals, rituals and ways of life.
Young people are invited to record the stories of people, families and communities that represent a valuable trace of the cultural memory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Enter the competition and show how you see the heritage of your local area!
Write, draw, take photographs, conduct research, talk to older people and create new ways of presenting heritage.
4. WHO MAY PARTICIPATE
The following are eligible to participate in the competition:
primary school pupils from Grade 1 to Grade 9 in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
secondary school pupils in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
students of faculties and other higher education institutions headquartered in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
volunteers in the fields of culture, youth and cultural heritage in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
An entry may be an individual or group work, depending on the type of work and category.
For a group work, all authors and participants involved in the work must be named.
Participants may submit an entry created as part of classroom teaching, extracurricular activities, school clubs, student projects or independent research.
5. COMPETITION CATEGORIES
CATEGORY I — PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS FROM GRADE 1 TO GRADE 5
Theme: “Tales from Grandmother’s Chest—Stories That Preserve Memory”
Description
Through creative expression, the youngest pupils explore the oral heritage of their local area—old stories, legends, family memories, customs and tales passed down through generations.
Entry format
Story, fairy tale, poem, illustration, digital drawing or mini-comic.
Objective
To encourage the youngest pupils to recognise the value of local heritage and the importance of preserving it through creativity, imagination and personal experience.
Requirements
A literary work must be submitted exclusively in PDF format.
An artwork, illustration or mini-comic must be submitted as a photograph if it consists of only one image, in JPG, PNG or a similar format, or as a PDF if it contains multiple pages or images.
For a group work, the names of all pupils who participated in creating the work must be provided.
CATEGORY II — PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS FROM GRADE 6 TO GRADE 9
Theme: “Traces of the Past: Legends, Customs and Stories of My Local Area”
Description
Pupils explore local legends, folk traditions, customs, rituals and stories that form part of the cultural heritage of their local area.
Entry format
Literary work, research paper, photo story, short video of up to three minutes or digital presentation.
Objective
To develop a spirit of inquiry among young people and encourage them to become active guardians of their community’s cultural heritage.
Requirements
Literary works and research papers must be submitted exclusively in PDF format.
Photo stories and digital presentations must be submitted exclusively in PDF format.
A video must be submitted via a link to an external video-storage or viewing service, such as YouTube, Google Drive or a similar service, and must be publicly visible—that is, available for viewing—at least until voting has concluded.
A video may be no longer than three minutes.
CATEGORY III — SECONDARY SCHOOL PUPILS
Theme: “Rhythm of the Past: A Digital Archive of Living Heritage”
Description
Young people explore and document elements of intangible cultural heritage: traditional crafts, traditional music, customs, the preparation of traditional local dishes, folk skills, rituals and testimonies from bearers of tradition.
Entry format
Short documentary video of up to three minutes, podcast, photo story, digital campaign or multimedia presentation.
Objective
To encourage secondary school pupils to use new technologies creatively in documenting, preserving and promoting cultural heritage.
Requirements
A video may be no longer than three minutes.
A podcast may be submitted as an audio or audiovisual recording of up to 15 minutes via a link to an external service, such as YouTube, Google Drive or a similar service, and must remain publicly visible and accessible at least until the end of voting.
Photo stories, digital campaigns and multimedia presentations must be submitted in a digital form suitable for viewing and public publication.
For video and audio works, the author or authors, the title of the work and the participants must be named.
CATEGORY IV — STUDENTS OF FACULTIES AND HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Theme: “Heritage Lab: Young People’s Ideas for Heritage Preservation”
Description
Students identify endangered elements of cultural or historical heritage and develop proposals for their protection, restoration, revitalisation or contemporary presentation.
Interdisciplinary approaches and ideas connecting culture, education, architecture, art, design, technology, tourism, communications and other fields are particularly encouraged.
Entry format
Project proposal, concept design, digital model or short video presentation of a project.
Objective
To connect the knowledge, creativity and innovation of young professionals with the need to preserve cultural heritage, and to encourage the development of new models for presenting it and bringing it closer to contemporary audiences.
A project proposal must be submitted exclusively in PDF format.
A digital model and video presentation of a project must be submitted in an appropriate digital format or via a link to the external service where the work is hosted; the link must remain publicly accessible at least until the end of voting.
CATEGORY V — INCLUSIVE WORK AND HERITAGE
Theme: “Heritage Belongs to Everyone—Together We Preserve the Stories of Our Local Area”
Description
This category is intended for pupils and young people from special educational institutions, centres, institutions and associations that work with children and young people with disabilities or difficulties, as well as other groups requiring additional support.
Through creative and collaborative work, participants explore, learn about and present the cultural heritage of their local area.
Entry format
Artwork, story, poem, photo story, short video, audio recording or another form of collaborative work.
Objective
To enable all young people to participate equally in preserving and presenting cultural heritage, and to promote togetherness, creativity and inclusion in the cultural life of the community.
Requirements
An entry may be an individual or group work.
Works created through the joint participation of beneficiaries, pupils and young people, their mentors, educators, teachers, professional staff, institutions and associations are particularly encouraged.
Works must be submitted in a format appropriate to the type of work.
For a group work, the name of the institution or association and the names of all authors and participants who took part in creating the work must be provided.
6. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
An artwork, illustration or mini-comic must be submitted as a photograph if it consists of only one image, in JPG, PNG or a similar format, or as a PDF if it contains multiple pages or images.
Literary works and research papers must be submitted exclusively in PDF format.
Videos must be submitted via a link to an external video-storage or viewing service; the link to the external service must remain publicly accessible at least until the end of voting.
Videos must be of a quality that allows them to be viewed and published publicly.
A minimum medium resolution is recommended for videos.
The name of the submitted file must contain:
author’s full name – category – title of the work.
For a group work, the filename may contain the first author’s full name together with the designation “group work.”
Participants must retain the original version of the work until the competition and the presentation of the award-winning works have concluded.
7. METHOD OF SUBMISSION AND DEADLINE
Works must be submitted exclusively electronically through the official platform of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports at the following address: den.fmks.gov.ba/predaja-rada/
Competition opening date: 7 September 2026
Deadline for submitting works: 15 October 2026
Incomplete applications and applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
If you experience problems with the application, you may contact us at fmks.den@gmail.com with a detailed description of the problem you are encountering.
8. REVIEW AND SELECTION OF WORKS FOR PUBLIC VOTING
After the submission deadline has passed, the works received will be reviewed to determine whether they meet the competition’s formal requirements.
Only works that meet the prescribed requirements and whose content corresponds to the competition theme will be accepted for further evaluation and, in the part relating to the Audience Award, published for public voting.
9. EVALUATION CRITERIA
The following will be evaluated when assessing the works:
| Criterion | Number of points |
| Authenticity and research approach | 30 |
| Creativity and originality | 25 |
| Quality of execution | 20 |
| Social significance and contribution to the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage | 25 |
| TOTAL | 100 |
The participant’s age and the complexity of the work in relation to the category in which it was entered will be taken into consideration during evaluation.
10. AWARDS
JURY AWARD
An expert jury will evaluate the works received in accordance with the established competition criteria and award First, Second and Third Prizes to the most successful works in each of the competition’s five categories:
Category I — primary school pupils from Grade 1 to Grade 5;
Category II — primary school pupils from Grade 6 to Grade 9;
Category III — secondary school pupils;
Category IV — students of faculties and higher education institutions;
Category V — Inclusive Work and Heritage.
The following will be awarded in each category:
First Prize
Second Prize
Third Prize
In addition to diplomas and certificates of recognition, prize-winning participants will also receive appropriate prizes that encourage creativity, cultural life, social interaction and the active participation of young people in the community.
Prizes may include:
tickets for cinemas, theatre performances and other cultural programmes;
tickets for concerts, museums, galleries and other cultural activities;
bookshop gift vouchers;
gift vouchers for creative and educational activities;
creative and educational gift packages;
books, board games and other appropriate prizes.
Depending on the quality and distinctive features of the works received, the expert jury may propose the awarding of special recognitions to works that stand out for a special contribution to inclusion, togetherness, creativity, the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, and the equal participation of young people.
The decision of the expert jury is final.
AUDIENCE AWARD
A separate Audience Award will be presented to the work that receives the highest number of valid votes through online voting, regardless of the competition category.
Works accepted for public voting will be published on the official website of the European Heritage Days 2026 event.
Online voting will be open from 20 October to 10 November 2026.
Each user may vote once for one work.
Votes obtained through automated means, through the use of bots or by other methods that compromise the regularity of the voting process may be annulled.
The Audience Award will be presented to the work that receives the highest number of valid votes in the overall competition, regardless of category.
In the event of an equal number of votes, preference will be given to the work awarded the higher number of points by the expert jury.
The online voting results will be verified after voting has closed.
11. DIPLOMAS, CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION AND RECOGNITIONS
Diplomas for the places won will be awarded to prize-winning participants.
Certificates of appreciation will be awarded to schools, faculties and other institutions participating in the programme.
Recognitions for work with young people will be awarded to the mentors of prize-winning participants.
Participants will be informed in due time of the date of the presentation of the works and the awarding of diplomas, certificates of appreciation and recognitions.
12. COPYRIGHT AND PUBLICATION OF WORKS
By submitting a work, the participant confirms that the work is their own original work or that they possess the rights required for its use and submission to the competition.
If the work contains photographs, videos, music, texts or other third-party materials, the participant is responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions and citing the sources where required.
By submitting a work, the participant consents to the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Media Center of the Archdiocese of Vrhbosna publishing the submitted work, the author’s name and basic information about the work on the Ministry’s and the European Heritage Days event’s official websites, social media and other communication channels, exclusively for the purposes of presenting, promoting and documenting the programme.
For participants who are minors, the appropriate consent of a parent or guardian must be obtained for the publication of the work and the information published alongside it.
13. ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS
The competition results will be published on the official website of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports and the official website of the European Heritage Days 2026 event.
The names of the prize-winning authors, the title of the work, the category and the prize won will be published in accordance with personal data protection rules.
MEDIA CENTER OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF VRHBOSNA
Pruščakova 13
71000 Sarajevo
European Heritage Days 2026 — “Youth and Heritage”
“Young Guardians of Heritage: Bring the Past to Life, Create the Future”