WEDNESDAY, May 21, 2025
The Sybir Memorial Museum’s Day

Registration and information desk

The permanent exhibition tour with the participation of Sybiraks
Number of participants in a group: 25 people
Number of groups: 8 (guided tours start every half hour)
Language: Polish, English

Individual tours of the exhibition with audioguide are available
during the same time.

No registration required, open to interested participants

Workshops:

Meetings topics:
• 13.00 – 14.00 – conservation of collections
• 13.30 – 14.30 – relationships with the local community
• 14.00 – 15.00 – accessibility
• 14.00 – 15.00 – international cooperation
• 15.00 – 16.00 – events and education
• 16.00 – 17.00 – scientific activity
• 16.00 – 17.00 – communication and marketing

No registration required, open to interested participants

Guided walking tours of Białystok
(optional, pre-registration required)

Meeting point:
Białystok Cathedral, Kościelna 2, Białystok
Number of participants in a group: 28 people per group

Duration:
11.00–14.00 (the first group)
13.00–16.00 (the second group)
15.00–18.00 (the third group)

Concert of the “Czeremszyna” local folk music band.

Its music refers to the place of residence of the musicians. They perform traditional songs from Podlasie region and the Polish-Belarusian-Ukrainian borderland.

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025
EMYA2025 Conference

Registration and information desk

Opening of EMYA2025

Keynote address: Kaja Širok, historian and museologist
Title: Museums as Spaces of Remembrance and Empowerment
The true potential of museums lies in their capacity to act as
agents of change, forging connections and fostering unity, rather
than serving as passive entities associated with the past. The
museum of the future will be a dynamic space of shared memories
where stories about our collective past are living narratives
that connect generations and communities. This forward-looking
museum will be a vibrant hub that actively engages visitors, encouraging
participation and fostering a sense of continuity and
shared understanding to create a bridge between the past, present
and future.

Presentation of EMYA nominees and thematic panels
Introduction: Amina Krvavac, Chair, EMYA Jury and Trustee, European Museum Forum

Art for All: Transformative Engagement Practice in Museums
Chair: Friedrich von Bose, EMYA Judge
Museums foster inclusive environments and transformative practices
through accessibility and community participation. We will
explore recent engagement strategies that champion traditional
museum models, aiming to create meaningful connections between
art and diverse audiences for positive social change.

● Foundation Museum Ovartaci, Aarhus, Denmark
● Serralves Museum, Porto, Portugal
● Korsak’s Museum of Ukrainian Modern Art, Lutsk, Ukraine
● Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, The Netherlands
● Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul, Türkiye

Coffee break

Time Travels: Museums on Science and Technologies
Chair: Zandra Yeaman, EMYA Judge
Museums utilize science and technology to bridge the past,
make sense of the present, and envision the future. We will examine
how science-infused storytelling shapes new understandings
and attitudes towards innovation in science and technology,
as well as solidarity across disciplines and generations.

● Enter Technikwelt Solothurn, Solothurn, Switzerland
● Museum of Photography in Kraków, Kraków, Poland
● “Under the Swan” Pharmacy, Department of the Leon
Wyczółkowski District Museum in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz,
Poland
● Medical History Museum, Gothenburg, Sweden
● Coastal Express Museum, Stokmarknes, Norway

Lunch

Sámi Museum Siida, Inari, Finland, winner of EMYA2024
Introduction: Léontine Meijer-van Mensch, EMF Trustee

Bridging the Gap: The Role of Museums in Uniting Communities
Chair: Joan Seguí, EMYA Judge
People see museums as keepers of local identities and collective
memories. In times of social and political upheaval and increasing
economic disparities in society, what impact do identity tensions
have on museums’ ability to bridge inequalities and promote
understanding among diverse audiences and populations?

● National Navy Museum, Paris, France
● Museum of Amber, Department of Museum of Gdańsk,
Gdańsk, Poland
● Museum of Iberian Art El Cigarralejo, Mula, Spain
● UMU – University Museum Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
● Ensérune, Oppidum and Archaeological Museum,
Nissan-lez-Ensérune, France

Coffee Break

Changing Urbanities: Expanding Democratic Spaces
Chair: Hans Looijen, EMF Chair a.i.
Museums have the potential to strengthen urban democracy.
They develop new practices to stay in touch with what life is
like in the city—including the issues communities face and their
hopes for the future. We will discuss how museums today continue
their mission to serve as tools for civic engagement, enabling
people to have more than just consultative power but also
exercise and develop agency.

● Wien Museum, Vienna, Austria
● Krzysztofory Palace, Museum of Kraków, Kraków, Poland
● Manchester Museum, Manchester, United Kingdom
● The House of Architecture, Madrid, Spain
● Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, Łódź, Poland

Museum of Home, London, United Kingdom, winner
of the Meyvaert Museum Prize 2024
Introduction: Daniëlle Kuijten, EMYA Judge

Welcome reception
Venue: The Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic — European Art
Center, Odeska 1, Białystok
Reception host: Léontine Meijer-van Mensch, EMF Trustee

FRIDAY, May 23, 2025
EMYA2025 Conference

Registration and information desk

Living Heritage: Museums and Communities Shaping the Present
Chair: Agnes Aljas, EMYA Judge
Heritage is not static—it lives through the people who carry its
traditions. Heritage also changes meaning depending on sociopolitical
contexts. We will examine how museums actively engage
with and support communities in safeguarding and (re)interpreting
heritage to make it dynamic and relevant to addressing
contemporary challenges and (re)shaping the future.

● Alvor Lifeboat Interpretation Center, Portimão, Portugal
● Open Air Museum Het Hoogeland, Warffum, The Netherlands
● Collective Memory Point, Vad, Romania
● House of the Basque Language. The Basque Language Interpretation
Centre, Bilbao, Spain

Coffee break

Keynote address: Basil Kerski, director, European Solidarity
Centre / Europäisches Solidarność-Zentrum
Title: The role of European museums in defending universal human
rights and democracy
What role do museums in Europe have in defending human rights
and democracy? Basil Kerski will explore the current political
context of the work of museums Europe. In the face of the instrumentalisation
of memory to legitimise authoritarian politics,
he will make a case for the defence of a democratic culture of
remembrance and for museums as peaceful actors in the cultural
and political conflicts over the future shape of Europe.

Innovating for a Sustainable Future
Chair: Michał Wiśniewski, EMF Trustee
Museums have increasingly explored new educational and learning
models related to environmental issues, including climate
change. Here we explore recent socio-ecological approaches
and perspectives and how museums are paying increased attention
to topics such as the interplay between nature and technology,
the connections between humans and non-humans, and
new forms of collections and collection-making in light of emerging
eco-decolonial perspectives.

● House of the Volcanoes, Lanzarote, Spain
● Muzoo, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
● Glacier Garden Lucerne, Lucerne, Switzerland
● Natural History Museum, Oslo, Norway

Lunch

Kalamaja Museum, Tallinn, Estonia, winner of Silletto Prize 2024
Introduction: Dominika Mroczkowska-Rusiniak, EMYA Judge

Enhancing Immersive Museum Experiences
Chair: Beat Hächler, EMYA Judge
Immersive. Interactive. Experience-driven. We will dive into recent
developments in immersive museum productions: What
constitutes quality in an immersive design? What can other
museums learn from such designs and experiences? What and
where are the limits of a museum immersive project? What makes
a museum a museum?

● Maria Callas Museum, Athens, Greece
● House of Music, Budapest, Hungary
● Salon Stolz, Graz, Austria
● Carl Nielsen Museum, Odense, Denmark
● Miffy Museum, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Coffee break

Salt Museum, Messolonghi, Greece, winner
of Portimão Museum Prize 2024
Introduction: Pedro Branco, EMF

Revisiting Legacies of Collectors and Collections
Amina Krvavac, EMYA Judge and Chair of Jury
Museums have been increasingly concerned with placing the
history of their collections at the forefront of their institutional
mission, enabling new conversations about the legacies of
collecting, challenges in historical and contemporary collecting
practices, and innovative forms of curatorship and collection
management. We will examine recent efforts by museums to diversify
the mission of collections and foster renewed dialogue
around identity and inclusion.

● Sainsbury Centre, Norwich, United Kingdom
● Gallerie d‘Italia, Naples, Italy
● Isbank Museum of Painting-Sculpture, Istanbul, Türkiye
● Gallerie d‘Italia, Turin, Italy

Historical Narratives and Innovative Museum Techniques
Chair: Adriana Muñoz, EMYA Judge
Museums preserve and shape memory—they shape our understanding
of and evolving attitudes toward the past. Museums
have also been increasingly committed to raising the public’s
awareness that there is not one history but many. We will explore
museums’ recent strategies and techniques for exhibiting
interwoven histories that enable visitors to question, engage
with, and understand the world from different perspectives.

● Het Loo Palace, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands
● Savoisien Museum, Chambéry, France
● International Museum on the Reformation, Geneve, Switzerland
● Bodrum Underwater Archaeology Museum, Bodrum, Türkiye
● Deutschlandmuseum, Berlin, Germany

Reception
Venue: The Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic – European Art
Center, Odeska 1, Białystok
Reception host: Sharon Heal, EMF Trustee

SATURDAY, May 24, 2025
EMYA2025 Conference
and Awards Ceremony

Registration and information desk

Ihor Poshyvailo, Ukraine, winner Kenneth Hudson Award for
Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity 2024
Introduction: Hans Looijen, EMF Chair ad interim

Panel discussion: Solidarity – Museums Standing with their
Communities

Convenor: Sharon Heal
Many museums actively engage their communities and invite
them into their spaces. But what happens when museums stand
in solidarity with their communities and prioritize their needs?
We will explore cutting-edge museum work that shifts the emphasis
from buildings and collections to people and activism.

Facilitator: Sharon Heal, director Museums Association UK

Speakers:
Matt and Jess Turtle, co-founders Museum of Homelessness UK
Bernadette Lynch, Museum writer/researcher, founder of the international
network and former EMYA judge
Salma Jreige, Solidarity in Action Network

Coffee break

Identity in architecture. The Museum of Blessed
Father Jerzy Popiełuszko in Okopy
Introduction: Wojciech Śleszyński, Director of the Sybir Memorial
Museum

Presentation of EMYA2026

Certificates ceremony
The European Museum Forum will formally present certificates to
all nominated museums
Presented by Dominika Mroczkowska-Rusiniak, EMYA Judge and
Andrzej Zugaj, EMYA National Correspondent, Poland

Group photograph of all nominated museums

Lunch

Participants can choose between workshops by 2024
award winners

Free afternoon for participants

EMYA2025 AWARD CEREMONY

Welcome drinks

Performance

Welcome: Hans Looijen, Chair a.i., European Museum Forum
Master of Ceremony: Daniëlle Kuijten and Mathieu Viau-Courville

The Meaning of the Council of Europe Museum Prize
Presented by Constantinos Efstathiou, Cyprus, Council of Europe

Introduction to the awards
Presented by Amina Krvavac, Chair, EMYA Jury

Special commendation certificates

The Meyvaert Museum Prize for Environmental Sustainability

The Silletto Prize for Community Participation and Engagement
Presented by Carol Jackson, Silletto Trust

The Portimão Museum Prize for Welcoming, Inclusion and Belonging

The Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity
Hans Looijen, Chair a.i., European Museum Forum

European Museum of the Year Award
Presented by Amina Krvavac, Chair, EMYA Jury

Group photograph of awards winners

EMYA GALA DINNER
Venue: TBA

SUNDAY, May 25, 2025
The Sybir Memorial Museum’s
local tours

Białystok – guided walking tours of Białystok

Number of participants in a group:
28 people per group

Duration:
9.00–12.00 (the first group)
9.30–12.30 (the second group)
12.30–15.30 (the third group)

Meeting point:
Białystok Cathedral, Kościelna 2, Białystok

Visit to the Białowieża Forest UNESCO Site

Białowieża – the heart of the Białowieża Forest – one of the
oldest and best-preserved primeval forests in Europe

Number of participants in a group:
47

Duration:
8:00–17:00

Meeting point:
The Sybir Memorial Museum, Węglowa 1, Białystok

Tykocin – a charming town where history, culture, and nature
come together in perfect harmony

Number of participants in a group:
47

Duration:
9:00–14:00

Meeting point:
The Sybir Memorial Museum, Węglowa 1, Białystok

Supraśl – a picturesque town located in the a region of
Knyszyńska Forest wit still functioning Orthodox monastery from
the late 15th century

Number of participants in a group:
47

Duration:
9:00–14:00

Meeting point:
The Sybir Memorial Museum, Węglowa 1, Białystok

Supraśl, kayaking trip – a trip down the Supraśl River close
to nature through the picturesque region of the Knyszyńska Forest

Number of participants in a group:
18

Duration:
9:00–14:00

Length:
7.5 km

Meeting point:
The Sybir Memorial Museum, Węglowa 1, Białystok

Internal EMF/EMYA meetings during the Conference:

EMYA jury and EMF board of trustees meeting

EMF board of trustees meeting

EMF national correspondents, EMYA jury and EMF board
of trustees meeting

EMYA jury and EMF board of trustees meeting

EMYA jury meeting