EUROPEAN MUSEUM ACADEMY
This edition of our newsletter reflects the wide range of ways museums continue to shape cultural life across Europe and beyond. At a time when institutions are adapting to rapid technological, social and environmental change, we are reminded once again that museums are not only guardians of heritage, but active spaces for dialogue, creativity.
NEWSLETTER
EMA publishes details of its current activities in an occasional Newsletter. Its Press Releases will continue to focus on individual announcements and events.
A European Museum Expertise Foundation
A dynamic and forward-looking organisation to stimulate innovative thinking in European museums
A Word From The Board
This edition of our newsletter reflects the wide range of ways museums continue to shape cultural life across Europe and beyond. At a time when institutions are adapting to rapid technological, social and environmental change, we are reminded once again that museums are not only guardians of heritage, but active spaces for dialogue, creativity and public connection.
Several contributions in this issue highlight how innovation and cultural memory increasingly work hand in hand. The continued development of the Meta-Museum concept encourages us to rethink how museums engage with audiences through digital participation, accessibility and new forms of storytelling. In a similar spirit, the Heritalise Project demonstrates how collaboration across disciplines and borders can strengthen heritage institutions and create more sustainable cultural futures.
We are also pleased to feature updates on the Heritage in Motion Award, which continues to celebrate outstanding achievements in digital heritage, audiovisual storytelling and innovative communication. These initiatives show how heritage can remain dynamic and relevant while reaching wider and more diverse audiences.
Education remains central to the future of the museum sector. The EDUMaH Programme and this year’s Summer School both underline the importance of investing in new generations of museum professionals, researchers and cultural leaders. Through shared learning, international exchange and interdisciplinary approaches, these programmes help equip the sector for the challenges ahead.
This issue also celebrates museums as spaces created not only for preservation, but for inclusion and imagination. The Children in Museums Award reminds us that museums have a responsibility to inspire curiosity, participation and discovery among younger audiences, ensuring that cultural institutions remain welcoming and meaningful for future generations.
Alongside these forward-looking initiatives, we also take time to honour the individuals whose work has profoundly shaped the museum and cultural heritage field. We remember with great respect Ioanna Papantoniou (1936–2026), whose lifelong contribution to costume studies, museology and cultural preservation leaves a lasting legacy across Europe.
In the spirit of dialogue and exchange, we are delighted to include an interview with Temime Hazal Sahin, whose perspective offers valuable insight into contemporary cultural practice, creativity and long-term vision within the sector.
Across Europe, museums continue to face significant pressures — financial, political and societal. Yet despite these challenges, the commitment, resilience and imagination within our community remain strong. Museums continue to provide spaces for reflection, learning and human connection, which are perhaps more necessary now than ever before.
By working together, sharing knowledge and supporting one another across borders and disciplines, we can continue to strengthen the role of museums in society and shape a more open, thoughtful and connected cultural future.
Karl Murr
Chairperson of the EMA
NATIONAL MUSEUM REPORT 2025
The National Museum Report 2025 based on the reports from our network of representatives in 39 EU countries recounts the richness and diversity of the European museum landscape.
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CHILDREN IN MUSEUMS AWARD – SHORTLIST PUBLISHED!
Summary from the Judges‘ Report
The jury has just published the shortlist for the Children in Museums Award 2026.
These are the shortlisted contenders:
Technopolis – Mechelen, Belgium
House of Stories – Paris, France
Alice: Museum for Children – Berlin, Germany
Cricoteka – Kraków, Poland
POLIN – Museum of the History of Polish Jews – Warsaw, Poland
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IOANNA PAPANTONIOU (1936-2026)
Described as ‘the woman who reshaped the map of Greek folklore’, Ioanna died on 25 February 2026. A scenographer, costume designer and visionary, she was the ‘heart and soul’ of the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation (PFF), which she founded in 1974 and to which she donated her personal collection of 6,000 items of traditional Greek costume.
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INTERVIEW WITH TEMIME HAZAL SAHIN
EMA continues interviewing experts in their field. For our current issue we have been speaking to Temime Hazal Sahin about her career, experiences, projects, role in EMA.
“Working directly with visitors taught me that museums are not simply educational institutions; they are emotional and social spaces. Visitors do not only come to museums to receive information. They also come to feel curiosity, inspiration, nostalgia, creativity, and connection.”
HERITAGE IN MOTION AWARD 2026
We are excited to announce that the call for submissions for Heritage in Motion 2026 — the 12th edition of the international multimedia and audiovisual award dedicated to cultural heritage — is now open.📤
CATEGORIES:
• New Digital Experiences
• Virtual, Augmented and Extended Reality
• Audiovisuals — including Museums in Short (now in partnership with HIM)
If you’re working on an innovative project that uses digital technology to bring cultural heritage to life, we’d love to see your work!
💳 Early Bird fee: €90 (until 1 May) · Regular fee: €120
🏆 Finals & Award Ceremony: 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚, 𝟐𝟗–𝟑𝟎 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
Submit here: https://filmfreeway.com/HeritageInMotion
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EDUCATION
EDUMaH Master Programme: Education in Museums & Heritage (Erasmus Mundus International Master)
This is a uniquely innovative and multidisciplinary programme that equips the next generation of museum and heritage professionals with the ability to engage with the various contexts (cultural, social, political) that they will encounter and which are needed for the 21st century. The programme includes placements, language learning and a minimum of three mobility periods in Europe.
Click here for further information
IULM Master course: Museology and New Media and Museum Communication (On Line)
Our Master’s course has a unique approach to museology in its most innovative form, especially at a European level. It is carried out in collaboration with the European Museum Academy Foundation, which contributes with its experts and educational resources. Articulated e-learning is the key point: the online modules also offer students abroad the opportunity to take part in this course under careful tutoring. The programme is designed for those interested in acquiring skills in contemporary museology and the interconnections between museum and heritage, as well as in new media and museum communication.
Click here for further information
EMA in EU PROJECTS
META-MUSEUM
The latest issue of META-MUSEUM UNPACKED explores a compelling question: can a museum visit actually change you? In this second edition of the Horizon EU-funded META-MUSEUM project’s open-access series, two experts from the *EMA* — *Henrik Zipsane* , EMA Director, and *Elia Vlachou* , museologist and museum expert — shed light on how neuroscience and museum studies are joining forces to understand the emotional impact of cultural heritage on visitors. They discuss EMA’s development of practical educational modules for museum professionals, the challenges of applying these insights, and the critical ethical questions around emotional influence and visitor trust.
HERITALISE
HERITALISE has just published the State-of-the-Art Review: Digitisation of Cultural Heritage – Methodologies, Technologies and Best Practices. This report presents the outcomes of an international survey that reached over 1,200 professionals and institutions worldwide, mapping the current landscape of digitisation practices and identifying the key challenges and opportunities shaping the future of cultural heritage. The survey, led by Heritage Malta and the UNESCO Chair on Digital Cultural Heritage at the Cyprus University of Technology, with the collaboration of other HERITALISE partners, provides a global overview of how museums, archives, universities, and heritage organisations are engaging with digital tools to document and preserve both tangible and intangible heritage.
Read the review
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