Din l-Art Ħelwa wins top European award for defending Malta’s heritage

Din l-Art Ħelwa won one of Europe’s top heritage honours in the 2026 European Union and Europa Nostra Awards’ Heritage Champions category after six decades of voluntary work defending Malta’s cultural and natural heritage.

The award was presented in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday during the European Cultural Heritage Summit 2026 The awards are co-funded by the EU’s Creative Europe programme and recognise outstanding heritage projects and organisations across Europe.

Founded in 1965, Din l-Art Ħelwa (DLĦ) has restored more than 60 national landmarks and works of art, campaigned for stronger heritage laws, and built a volunteer network that now manages historic sites ranging from medieval chapels and coastal fortifications to cemeteries, gardens and a lighthouse.

Europa Nostra’s jury described the NGO as an example of “committed heritage stewardship” that combines restoration, advocacy, legal reform and public engagement.

Executive President Patrick Calleja said the award was “a tribute to every volunteer, member and supporter who, for 60 years, refused to stand by while our heritage was neglected or threatened”.

Former Executive President Simone Mizzi, daughter of the organisation’s founder, accepted the award on behalf of the NGO. She said DLĦ had always believed heritage was “not about the past alone” but about “community, continuity and the courage to act”.

The recognition comes as DLĦ remains at the centre of some of Malta’s most contested heritage battles.

In March, the government finally announced it would hand the long-abandoned il-Qolla l-Bajda, or Qbajjar Battery, in Gozo to DLĦ after a couple of decades of delays and broken promises.

The NGO is expected to restore, preserve and manage the 200-year-old artillery battery in collaboration with the Żebbuġ Local Council while keeping it accessible to the public.

The same organisation had also nominated Fort Chambray’s British Barracks for Europa Nostra’s 2026 list of Europe’s seven most endangered heritage sites, turning what had been treated as a local planning dispute into a European heritage concern.

Despite their efforts, the barracks were later cleared for demolition by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal, prompting DLĦ to call for the “immediate” resignation of the Superintendent for Cultural Heritage, Kurt Farrugia, over what it described as an institutional failure.

DLĦ has also been among the NGOs challenging the Planning Authority over proposed flats inside the Ġgantija Temples buffer zone, after activists argued that serious technical objections to a heritage assessment had been ignored. The PA postponed its decision for six weeks after the NGOs’ intervention.

Beyond individual sites, the NGO is part of the Ġustizzja Għal Artna campaign, which has been pressing for stronger planning safeguards, including suspending works while permits are under appeal, removing illegal developments at offenders’ expense, and protecting ODZ land from retrospective sanctioning.

The international recognition awarded to DLĦ stands in stark contrast to the uphill struggle they often face when dealing with the country’s heritage authorities and the legislators responsible for safeguarding the country’s history, as has been evident in the well-known cases of Fort Chambray and the temples in Ġgantija.