On 7 August, the Free Belarus Museum was visited by Agnes Aljas, a member of the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) jury and a representative of the Estonian National Museum.
The visit took place as part of the official evaluation of the Free Belarus Museum as a candidate for the European Museum of the Year Award 2027 and the Council of Europe Museum Prize 2027.
Together with Agnes Aljas, we explored the exhibition, presented key objects, and talked about the history of the museum’s creation, its mission, and its everyday work. We paid particular attention to how we engage with visitors through educational programmes, work with memory, address human rights and democracy, and develop the museum as a space for dialogue about Belarus and its recent history.
To support the Museum during the jury’s visit, we were also joined by friends and partners – the Belarusian Association of Former Political Prisoners DaVoli, Aliaksandr Fiaduta, and Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
For our team, this was an important and highly responsible visit. EMYA evaluates not only exhibitions, but also how museums communicate with their audiences, create a distinctive museum experience, address social issues, and embody the values of democracy, human rights, tolerance, and intercultural dialogue.
The European Museum of the Year Award is one of Europe’s most prestigious museum awards. It has been presented since 1977 under the auspices of the European Museum Forum. Over the years, museums from across Europe have received the award for innovative approaches, audience engagement, quality of interpretation, and significant social impact. Previous winners include the Museum of Liverpool, the Rijksmuseum, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, and others. Every year, dozens of museums from European countries take part in the competition, with the list of candidates reflecting the diversity of contemporary museum practice.
For the Free Belarus Museum, the opportunity to be evaluated by the EMYA jury is itself an important professional recognition and an opportunity to present the Belarusian museum experience at the European level.
We thank Agnes Aljas for her visit, her attention to our work, and the open conversation.
We continue our work – preserving memory and creating a space where the history of Belarus can be heard and reflected upon.
