WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A TRUSTEE

SHARON HEAL, EMF TRUSTEE

I am delighted to be a trustee of the EMF with its long tradition of championing the value of museums across Europe. We live in turbulent times and as museums face up to their responsibilities in society I am excited to see how they will respond. Collectively we need to rethink the role and purpose of museums as they work with their communities to recover from Covid-19 and face the challenges of inequality and climate change. Over the past 12 months museums have demonstrated that they can make a positive difference in society even when their doors are closed. I look forward to celebrating their achievements and recognising the life changing work that museums can deliver in the EMYA ceremonies over the coming years.  

JETTE SANDAHL, EMF CHAIR 

I had the privilege of  serving as an EMYA judge for six years, and never ceased to be moved by the diversity of the museums I visited, and by how each year a jury of twelve very different people, with different professional background, different cultural origins, different perspectives and interpretations of the world in general would come together and, out of a pool of seemingly incomparable museums, distill a group of winning museums, often surprising ourselves in the process. The longer I worked with EMYA, the more I came to respect and cherish the impact of this small, but indefatigable, stalwart and unwavering organisation within the museum field.

EMYA and EMF represent a set of core values around innovation and quality, but equally around cultural diversity, cultural democracy and cultural participation.  These values guide the judging and award process, and our annual conferences are occasions in which these values are continuously discussed, renewed, reinterpreted, refreshed.  

Kenneth Hudson, when I got to know him, was a formidable figure, halfway between a person and an institution, speaking in distinct axioms and articulating his 1st, 2nd and 3rd law of museums, with a richness in scathing wit and analytical intellect which ensure their continued relevance today. He came to mean quite a bit for my personal, somewhat unusual trajectory in the museum field, and I have been happy, as a judge and now as a trustee, to make my small contribution to the continued life of EMYA/EMF. 

JOUETTA VAN DER PLOEG, EMF TRUSTEE 

It is a huge privilege to be a trustee of the EMF. For more than 41 years EMYA/EMF tunes into developments in European society and describes, interprets, recommends and advises on the implications of these changes for the museum and heritage sector. EMYA through its scheme provides a unique opportunity to have a first hand experience of the current trends in the European museums and the way they deal with crises and turbulent political upheavals in this rapidly changing world. The nominated museums - either large and well-resourced or the very smallest -never fail to surprise in their diversity and ingenuity, in their commitment to supporting new ideas and public quality. More and more museums proclaim values like humanity, courage, solidarity, democracy and human rights. They fight against alienation and defend responsible citizenship. To be part of this process is an inspiring, humbling and often emotional experience.