From 21 to 25 May 2025, the Sybir Memorial Museum and the city of Białystok became the European capital of museology. It was here that the Annual Conference and Awards Ceremony of the European Museum of the Year Award 2025 (EMYA) took place.

 The conference was organised by the European Museum Forum (EMF) and hosted by the Sybir Memorial Museum, recipient of the Council of Europe Museum Prize 2024. The event brought together the EMYA community, including representatives of institutions that had previously applied for, been nominated for, or received the award, as well as partners and experts from across the museum sector. Participants had the opportunity to engage in inspiring panel discussions, workshops, and debates devoted to innovation and best practices in contemporary museology.

 Forty-two museums from eighteen countries, nominated for the EMYA 2025, presented their achievements during the conference. One of the key objectives of the event was to foster the development of forward-looking strategies in response to contemporary challenges, while creating a space for dialogue and education within and for communities.

 We are proud that the Sybir Memorial Museum was chosen to host this exceptional event. We are delighted to have welcomed you to our museum and our city – to Białystok, a place where memory, history, and modernity converge to inspire the future of European museology. We warmly invite you to return to Białystok and the Sybir Memorial Museum, said Professor Wojciech Śleszyński, Director of the Sybir Memorial Museum, in his closing remarks at the conclusion of the EMYA 2025 celebrations.