For over four decades EMYA has played a role in showcasing museum innovation and the particular role of museums in supporting access to culture, cultural diversity and human rights within the European museum landscape.
As an independent charity, EMF depends on the voluntary work contributed by judges, trustees and national correspondents, and on the support, grants, and sponsorships from a number of different partners.
The primary sources of income for EMF are the candidates’ application fees for the award scheme, and the fees for the annual conference. Supplementing these, the organisation receives invaluable institutional support from the Council of Europe, from the Municipality of Portimao, from a number of national ministries and museums associations, as well as from a number of private contributors, such as the Silletto Trust, Chargeurs Museum Studio, Meyvaert and Heritage and Museums.
Founding institutional partner
Council of Europe | Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe is a European human rights organisation with 46 member States that seeks to develop and promote common democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. The Council of Europe advocates for human dignity, equality, non-discrimination, protection of minorities, respect for cultural diversity, freedom of expression and of the media, freedom of assembly, citizen participation and education in human rights and democracy. Since 1977, the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has selected and awarded the Council of Europe Museum Prize, in close partnership with the European Museum Forum (EMF) following the judging process and recommendations of the EMYA jury. |
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Institutional partners
Municipality of Portimão | After many years leading a nomadic existence, moving offices (and archives) to different cities across Europe, EMYA finally found a long-term home in 2018 in Portimão, in Portugal’s Algarve. The Municipality of Portimão is committed to democratic access to culture, which was reflected in Portimão Museum winning the Council of Europe Museum Prize in 2010. Dedicated to cultural participation in Europe, the Municipality’s partnership with EMYA is a way to build on the success of their innovative museum and support the development of museums across the continent. The partners agreed that the Municipality, through the museum, would provide administrative support for the EMF and a home for the EMF/EMYA Archive. In recognition of this support, the EMF has created the Portimão Museum Prize for a museum that, in the opinion of the jury, is the most welcoming and friendly of that year’s nominated candidates. These are very important values for Portimão, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. The main quality the prize celebrates is a friendly atmosphere of welcome so that all visitors, no matter what their background, feel they belong in the museum. All elements of the museum – its human qualities and physical environment – contribute to the feeling of welcome, as do events and activities in and round the museum. To add to this, Portimão will be the host of the EMYA2024 Conference and Ceremony, thus celebrating this partnership on its most significant shape and bringing all award nominees to the house of EMYA. |
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Silletto Trust | As a small family foundation, Silletto Trust aims to encourage and support museums in their work to engage with their communities in pursuing excellence at all levels. It works through the European Museum Forum and its awarding body, EMYA. The foundation was originally set up in the Isle of Man in 2009 through a legacy left by R.E. Silletto. Reg Silletto was a long term resident of IOM and was Chair of the Friends of Manx National Heritage for more than 20 years, actively involved in the development of that small island's impressive heritage sector. The family is delighted to be able to continue his work by encouraging good practice and innovation through the Silletto Prize for Community Participation and Engagement. The Silletto Prize for Community Participation and Engagement is sponsored by the Silletto Trust and celebrates a deep, continuous and empowering involvement between a museum and its stakeholders, that places the museum as a point of orientation and reference at the centre of its communities, whether these be local, national, global or otherwise defined. |
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Meyvaert | Meyvaert is a world leader in delivering high-quality museum showcase solutions. Created in 1826 as a mirror factory, they joined the Haerens Group at the end of 2013. Today, Meyvaert is 1 of the top 4 companies in the world servicing museums with a production surface of over 4,000 m². Meyvaert's strength and success as a company lie in the ability to expertly translate the architect's aesthetic design concepts into technical and functional solutions, whilst ensuring that the client's wishes regarding the presentation, preservation and protection of the artefacts are met to the highest degree. The enterprise has extensive in-house teams including business development based in Ghent, Paris, London, New York, Singapore, UAE & Beijing, a design & product development department, an R&D cell, an own production & assembly facility, and multiple fully dedicated installation teams working around the world. The Meyvaert Museum Prize for Environmental Sustainability is sponsored by Meyvaert and goes to a museum which shows an exceptional commitment to reflecting and addressing issues of sustainability and environmental health in its collecting, documentation, displays and public programming as well as in the management of its own social, financial and physical resources. |
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Museum Studio | A unique collective with an unprecedented range of expertise, Museum Studio is the largest group in the world offering comprehensive cultural services for institutions, museums, foundations and brands – with award-winning results. |
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