European Museum of the Year Award

The European Museum of the Year Award and the series of related awards are given out each year at the annual conference and award ceremony.

The rigorous judging process involving visits to up to 60 museums culminates in an annual conference with the participation of 250 - 300 leading museum professionals, at which the candidates present their museums, the winners are announced, and the underlying values and innovative ideas in the European museum field are discussed, renewed and reinterpreted.

With nearly 50 years of EMYA’s accumulated traditions and insights into societal and community needs—which drive, create, develop, and sustain museums as crucial civic spaces for exploring Europe’s heritage—the conference serves as an ongoing benchmark for innovation and best practices in the sector.

About the host

Euskararen Etxea and its Basque Language Interpretation Centre are a gateway for those who want to learn about the Basque language. It is an active space for its community of speakers and for those who are working on its revitalisation process. Located in the city of Bilbao, it is a place to meet, learn, listen, read, reflect, participate, smile, fall in love, sing, work, cooperate, enjoy with the Basque language and in Basque language.

Basque is a minority and a minoritised language of Europe but is continuously growing. It is a living, active, functional, resilient language and forms part of the world's linguistic diversity. Basque is also a clear example of the feasibility of language revitalisation.

Renovated in 2023, the Basque Language Interpretation Centre aims to transmit the vital force and diversity of the Basque Language in a bold, fun, and imaginative way, but at the same time precise and scientific. It aims to highlight the role of the speakers and to vindicate the personal implications and the attitude of the community (speakers and non-speakers) in the process of revitalising the language.

Through its programs, it aims to create and reinforce the visitor's attachment to the language, to sow the idea that the future of the language depends on its speakers. Because everyone adds to the Basque language. And that it is worthwhile.

The 2025 Council of Europe Museum Prize was awarded to Euskararen Etxea, the House of Basque Language.