Milena Chorna (Ukraine)

Being a National Correspondent for EMYA is a great honour and true pleasure. As well as huge responsibility and a challenge. Especially, when representing the European museum community in a country with an ongoing war, and vice versa - making Ukrainian museums believe they can be a part of the European professional community.

Our communication with EMYA started in early 2023. When being Deputy Director of the National WWII Museum, I realised that the extremely risky actions of my colleagues from the War Museum team, as well as all others, that were undertaken to document the ongoing war in a professional, specifically museum way, should be made visible to a much larger audience outside Ukraine. Their utmost professional resilience was and remains inspiring, thus - worth sharing. That was my mission at that point. Now, having the honour to be a National Correspondent of EMYA for a war-torn country, with museum workers scattered all over Ukraine and still continuing to do their jobs under enormous and life-threatening circumstances I acknowledge the fact that my mission now is much more multilinear,  long-term and strategic one - not only to help my Ukrainian colleagues acknowledge their worth and professionally improve to meet the high standards of the European Museum Forum, but assist those incredibly courageous EMYA judges who come to visit the applicants not only with their chores, but in learning more about Ukraine as a longtime and integral part of European history and culture. I’m sure that all together we’ll succeed in accomplishing all the aforementioned missions.

Slava Ukrayini!

Lana Karaia (Georgia)

Since joining the European Museum Forum as National Correspondent for Georgia, I have been committed to supporting the integration of Georgian museums into the wider European museum community. I have long believed in the richness, resilience, and relevance of our museums — and in their potential to stand out on the European stage.

That belief was strongly affirmed at #EMYA2023, where two Georgian museums received well-deserved recognition. It was a proud moment not only for the institutions themselves but for the broader Georgian museum sector — a testament to years of dedicated work, transformation, and commitment to public value.

As National Correspondent, it has been a privilege to accompany and support this journey — by identifying promising institutions, guiding them through the application process, and fostering greater awareness of EMF's mission at the national level. Recognition is never the end — it brings with it a responsibility to continue striving for quality, innovation, and relevance.

I hope this success inspires even more museums in Georgia to see themselves as part of the European museum dialogue — open, forward-looking, and committed to growth.

Lora Sariaslan (Türkiye)

As an art historian and curator, I have been on the ‘other side’ of EMYA— managing the application process, being interviewed for the museum in which I worked, leading to a special commendation. Being a national correspondent since 2009 has enabled me to support and guide the remarkable effort of the candidate museums in compiling their applications, an experience that is simultaneously challenging and rewarding.

By focusing on the vital public role museums play, EMYA encourages museums to be socially relevant in diverse cultural, political, and historical landscapes, furthermore giving them a global platform for promotion, networking, and exchange of ideas. The multitude of collections, narratives, and experiences embodied by the participating museums present the immense breadth and depth of innovation advocated and practiced by museums in Europe. If history is defined by its attention to change over time, then this award is about history, and by being a national correspondent, you are involved in its making.

M. Cristina Vannini (Italy)

I have been part of the big EMF/EMYA family since 2004, having held most of the roles: advisor, national correspondent, board member and now, once again, national correspondent (it is almost impossible to leave EMF/EMYA once you've gotten involved!) with a deeper understanding of the meaning of this organization than I had at the beginning of my involvement.

The vision of EMF has changed over all these years, shaping upon the ideas of different Presidents and Boards, but the stated mission of founder Kenneth Hudson is still here to remind us of the central significance of public quality and innovation in the museum field.

My own personal professional growth owes much to the teachings and values of EMF, which I have tried to apply to my work as a museum consultant and lecturer in museum studies in a country where, even recently, the main concerns and policies on museums are still oriented towards conservation and less towards experience. Italy has always been underrepresented in EMYA, but the museums that have accepted the challenge have reported an extraordinary experience that has taught them to open up their views, to confront the outside world, and to establish a true dialogue with their societies and wider stakeholders to meet their mutual ends. And it is this what makes me continue to believe that the role of EMF/EMYA has a bearing in the years to come.