At a special ceremony that took place on 7 April 2025 in Strasbourg, Palais de l’Europe, the Euskararen Etxea, the House of the Basque Language (Bilbao, Spain) was awarded with the 2025 Council of Europe Museum Prize. The museum was selected by the Culture Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 3 December 2024. 

Commending the winning museum, the PACE President highlighted its role in strengthening democratic resilience and promoting inclusiveness: “The Euskararen Etxea offers a powerful and unique perspective on Europe and European identity, seen through the lens of a minority language. It carries a strong message of hope for the future.”

He portrayed the museum as “a grassroots initiative with inter-generational activities to promote the revival, transmission and use of the Basque language,” adding that it provides “a collaborative working space for local associations and individuals to develop projects to promote the language and related activities”.

Expressing her thanks, the Director of Euskararen Etxea, Iurdana Acasuso Atutxa said: “Our language, Basque, is a minority language that has gone through very difficult times, but which is still alive because that is the will of its speakers. It shows a community’s enthusiasm and work to preserve their own heritage, to share it with others and to enrich our societies. And this is the work of Euskararen Etxea since it opened its doors 20 years ago: to support the promotion and dissemination of the Basque language, and to be a place of reference for entities involved in the revitalisation of languages."

She concluded by saying that "In the 21st century, Basque has become a key reference model for everyone who loves cultural and linguistic diversity. We want to position ourselves as a centre of reference in linguistic matters for the rest of minority and minoritised languages of Europe."

Following the ceremony on the same day, the Committee on Culture, Science, Education, and Media convened a public hearing. During his speech at the public hearing, Hans Looijen, the Chair ad interim of the European Museum Forum, which has organised the prize selection procedure and jury since 1977, stated: "We see a growing threat to democratic security in Europe and a democratic backsliding globally. The role of museums is becoming more and more important. Museums across Europe are crucial defenders of democratic values and champions of a pluralistic society. This is also what makes them key-targets for those who oppose these ideals. It is vital to ensure that museums can continue to operate as open and democratic environments. The challenge for many museums is growing to preserve public funding and independence in management and governance."

Following this, he elaborated: "In our day and age upholding and defending our European values remains crucial. The EMF/EMYA will keep playing its’ part to uphold and promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law. That is what we see at EMF, museums reaching -and speaking- out form their collection, historically researched facts and independent collected data, many museums create opportunities to promote democracy by activating civil dialogue."

Being part of the European Museum of the Year Award scheme, the Council of Europe Museum Prize has been awarded annually by the Parliamentary Assembly since 1977. It aims to highlight Europe’s diverse cultural heritage and the interplay between local and European identities.

Links:
CoE Museum Prize page
CoE News
Video of the ceremony
Euskararen Etxea, the House of the Basque Language on the EMF website
Euskararen Etxea website
Previous winners of the CoE Museum Prize