The Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche, which awards every year the International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens in Treviso, decided unanimously to devote the 25th Prize to Osmače and Brezani, two villages in Srebrenica, in the eastern part of Bosnia.
Osmače and Brezani are one among many places in Bosnia and Herzegovina where two decades ago life was torn apart, breaking down the multicultural coexistence of the survivors, who spread out as a result of the events. What makes this place significant – and the main reason for this award – is the experience of a small group of families of farmers and stockmen who, seeking to recover the historical memory, embarked on the path back through the construction of new relationships between people by renewing the links based on such factors as living space, agricultural land, reconstruction of dwelling and especially the space generated from the living together between people.
Members of the Jury include our friend and collaborator José Tito Rojo of Granada University, as well as Carmen Añón, Honorary President of the ICOMOS-IFLA International Committee on Cultural Landscapes and member of our Advisory Board.
As members of the Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche, our President Cherif Abderrahman Jah was invited to the ceremony, although he eventually was unable to attend due to work-related reasons.
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