Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding on the island of Murter wins European Heritage Award

(Photo: Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding/Facebook)

ZAGREB, May 21 (Hina) – The Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding from Betina on the island of Murter has won the European Heritage Award/Europa Nostra Award in the category Education, training and awareness-raising.

The award is given by the European Commission and the Betina museum is one of this year’s 25 laureates from 16 countries and the only Croatian museum on this year’s list of winners.

The Betina museum project has been recognised for its impressive achievements in the protection of heritage, research, dedicated work, and education and awareness-raising, the jury said.

(Photo: Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding/Facebook)

“The project reinforces the central notion of the sea as a vital component of European heritage and reinforces community links with it. It also highlights the centrality of all aspects of maritime culture in daily life in the region,” the jury stated.

It commended the sustainability and the shared ownership of local stakeholders in the project, stating “The initial thrust of the project came from the community itself and it was subsequently developed by professionals so as to preserve and transmit maritime cultural traditions.

“This has led to the creation of an econo-museum which promotes ecological awareness and the sustainable use of resources in response to the mounting pressures and challenges of a developing tourist industry in the region.”

(Photo: Betina Museum of Wooden Shipbuilding/Facebook)

The jury noted that “the project also has a strong entrepreneurial element that realises the economic potential of local inherited shipbuilding traditions, in response to unsustainable global trends in ship construction.”

Museum director Kate Sikic Cubric said that the museum, established in 2015, was a result of the local community’s aspirations and its awareness of the need to preserve wooden shipbuilding.

“We were awarded in the category Education, training and awareness-raising, our mission being exactly that – to raise awareness of the value of Betina’s shipbuilding,” she said.

Betina is today a place where any type of wooden ship can be built or repaired, and it is our mission to make sure that is also possible in the future, said Sikic Cubric.