Last chance to enter European Museum of the Year Award 2020
Closing date for candidates is 10 May
There's still time for museums to put themselves forward for the European Museum of the Year Award (Emya) 2020, which closes for nominations on 10 May.
The award, which is run by the European Museum Forum (EMF), aims to recognise excellence and encourage innovation in European museums. The main award is open to new museums or those that have been substantially renovated or redeveloped.
The Emya website says: “EMF works within an overall framework of a commitment to citizenship, democracy and human rights, to bridging cultures and social and political borders, and to sustainability. The different awards within the Emya scheme reflect, represent, and emphasise different aspects and dimensions of these values.”
Emya was founded in 1977 under the auspices of the Council of Europe. Last year’s Emya winner was the Design Museum in London. Previous winners have included the Museum of Ethnography in Geneva, Switzerland; Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland; and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
In addition to the main award, the EMF distributes a number of other prizes and special commendations, including the Silletto Prize for excellence in community and volunteer engagement, and the Council of Europe Prize, which recognises museums that put a particular emphasis on European perspectives and values such as democracy, human rights, tolerance and inter-cultural dialogue.
This year's awards are due to be handed out at EMF's annual conference, which takes place later this month at the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The British Motor Museum in Warwickshire, the SS Great Britain in Bristol, and the D-Day Story in Portsmouth are among the 2019 nominees.