The awarding of the European Museum of the Year (EMYA) prizes will be the highlight of the annual conference of the European Museum Forum, which begins on 10 June, bringing together institutions from various countries to present projects and best practices in the area of ​​social responsibility, inclusion and community participation, according to the European Museum Forum website.

Challenging traditional structures

This year's edition has the theme "Revolutionising the Museum: Inclusion for All", focusing the debates on challenging traditional exhibition and curatorial structures, removing physical, cognitive and social barriers to access to culture, promoting participatory practices and "affirming museums as spaces of welcome, inclusion and reflection on contemporary societies", according to the program.

On 11 and 12 June, the 34 nominated museums will present their projects to the international jury, before the closing gala and announcement of the winners, scheduled for 13 June.

MUDE

MUDE, inaugurated in 2009 and dedicated to the multiple expressions of design, reopened in July 2024, after eight years of rehabilitation work in the former Banco Nacional Ultramarino building, in the historic centre of Lisbon, where it was installed.

Created at the initiative of the Lisbon City Council, the museum, which has a collection of more than 18,000 pieces organised into 19 thematic areas and five specialised areas, reopened following a renovation of the exhibition spaces, auditorium, design library, shop, bookstore, educational areas, and a panoramic terrace.

Until the headquarters building closed for renovations, it received almost two million visitors through about 60 exhibitions and 170 events related to its collection.

Lisbon Museum

The Palácio Pimenta, the main nucleus of the Lisbon Museum, the other nominated Portuguese museum, offers a route that combines chronological and thematic approaches to the capital's urban development, integrating archaeological evidence, everyday objects, and architectural references.

It reopened in September 2024, also after renovations that began in 2014.

Hosted in an 18th-century summer palace, surrounded by gardens, the museum presents the permanent exhibition "The House Where the City Lives," dedicated to the evolution of Lisbon from Prehistory to the 21st century.

The Palácio Pimenta also develops programs aimed at families, young people, and the elderly, with a special focus on sustainability and the critical review of historical narratives.

Quoted by the organisation on its website, the president of the European Museum Forum, Amina Krvavac, emphasises that these spaces "currently face a complex and constantly changing social scenario, marked by conflicts and increasing polarisation," pointing out that the confidence that these institutions still benefit from within communities “implies an increased responsibility." Among the nominees for this edition are institutions such as the Seddülbahir Fortress (Turkey), the Museum of Rural Civilization in Mendrisiotto (Switzerland), the Institute of the Museum of Madness (Slovenia), the La Unión Mining Museum (Spain), the Museum of Engineering and Technology in Krakow (Poland), the Tsitsanis Research Center – Museum (Greece), the Obersalzberg Documentation Center (Germany), the Latvian National Museum of Literature and Music (Latvia), the Malva Museum of Visual Arts (Finland), and the Budapest Museum of Ethnography (Hungary).

Awards given

In 2025, the Alvor Lifeguard Interpretive Centre, in the municipality of Portimão, received the Silletto Prize, which was among the nominees, a distinction that recognises the work carried out with the local community.

In 2017, the Leiria Museum won the same award, praised by the international jury for integrating volunteers and actively involving citizens from the region in the museum's projects.

Created in 1977, the European Museum of the Year award distinguishes institutions that stand out for innovation, the quality of the experience offered to the public, and their contribution to the social role of museums, and is considered one of the most prestigious distinctions in the European museum sector.