The Forum of European Museums (EMF/European Museum Forum) will have its «home» in the Museum of Portimão. And this Algarve museum structure will be the inspiration and name for a new European award, the Museu de Portimão Prize, to distinguish the most welcoming museum in Europe.
These are, in short, the two most important novelties of the protocol signed yesterday afternoon, July 11, in the emblematic decabeço room of the former Fábrica Feu which, for 10 years, has been the home of the Museu de Portimão.
Jette Sandahl, president of the EMF, from Denmark, and Isilda Gomes, President of the Portimão City Council, were the signatories of the partnership agreement that defines that the Museum of Portimão will host the administrative secretariat of the Forum of European Museums, for three years, as well as the archive of the EMF and EMYA – European Museum of the Year Award, for ten years.
The protocol also formalizes the creation of the new Portimão Museum Prize, designed to distinguish the most welcoming European museum to be awarded every year. José Gameiro, scientific director of the Portimão Museum, told the Sul Informação that the first delivery of this new award will take place in May of next year 2019, during the EMYA awards ceremony, in Geneva, Switzerland.
At the ceremony, mayor Isilda Gomes made a point of stressing that the Portimão Museum is now, in fact, «the home of the EMF». “It is always a challenge to do something new, not only hosting the secretariat and the archive here, but also launching this prize,” he said.
Jette Sandahl, for his part, expressed his satisfaction at the fact that the EMF and EMYA archives were installed "in a living and breathing museum".
“Now we have a house. We've needed this for a long time. I think it's really important, for the organization of the EMF, internally, but also for the way people see us. Now we will be identified with this beautiful sunny place, in the most beautiful corner of Europe», said the president of the EMF, in statements to our newspaper.
“The Portimão Museum has always been very international in its approach and that was one of the reasons why it won the Council of Europe Museum prize in 2010”, as well as for receiving the secretariat and the archive, added Jette Sandahl.
José Gameiro, scientific director of the Portimonian museum structure and until recently president of the international EMYA awards jury, stressed to Sul Informação that this agreement allows “to place the Museum of Portimão at the center of European awards. From now on, all museums in Europe will now send their applications to Portimão and, at the same time, we have the possibility of receiving researchers here who want to study 41 years of this award for the best European museums».
But, «from now on, there is also a new prize to distinguish the most welcoming museum in Europe, which was called the Portimão Museum Prize. This award, intended to reward the greatest humanism in welcoming visitors, did not yet exist. As we are in a tourist area, we usually welcome visitors, which is a way to extend this idea. For the first time, the Museum of Portimão will be linked to museums across Europe that, in the future, will win this prize,” he added.
Mark O'Neill, professor at the College of Arts of the University of Glasgow, Scotland, linked to museums for decades and recently chairman of the EMYA awards jury, succeeding the Portuguese José Gameiro, explained in an interview with Sul Informação, the reasons for creating this new European award.
«The definition of a good museum, for EMYA, is its public quality, it is not so much the building or the exhibitions, but rather the experiences of the audience. Of course, one of the most important experiences is feeling welcome, as human beings immediately detect when they are not welcome. It is wonderful for us that Portimão has identified this human quality as deserving an award. It has everything to do with the philosophy of EMYA and as a previous winner, Portimão is a great name to give to the new award».
Mark O'Neill has no doubts that "there's going to be a lot of competition." However, he admits, "we were even surprised how there are still museums that are not welcoming, that still think they are special temples." Fortunately, he added, "the most modern museums have already understood this issue of reception."
And what good can this protocol bring to Portimão? Jette Sandahl believes that “the EMF can provide a gateway to the exciting world of Europe's museums. It's where we live and every year the four most innovative museums in Europe come to us».
The most immediate advantage is the promotion of Portimão and its museum throughout Europe.
The EMF president, herself former director of the Copenhagen Museum, is confident in the role of museums in the future: “the more mixed and conflicted European life is, the more museums can be good platforms to have these discussions about what is the Europe, where is Europe going, what we are thinking about at the moment».
For the Danish expert, what matters is "whether people, communities, feel that museums are important to them and to their lives"
“More and more, museums manage to become those platforms where the rest of us can go. The Museum of Portimão, for example, has become a place where people who worked here, in the old canning factory, can come and see their own history presented here, in a way that puts them in the middle of this broader cultural context. . More and more, museums are realizing how important it is to be intimately connected and rooted in the community,” concluded Jette Sandahl.
Mark O'Neill is also reasonably confident about the future of museums. In his statements to our newspaper, he recalled that “museums everywhere are suffering cuts in funding and revenue because of austerity, but the truth is that the number of new museums is growing. Half of the museums that are open now were not open 30 years ago».
Therefore, he concludes: "people need museums, because of their identity, the feeling of belonging to a community, of feeling that they have a special place in this globalized world."
What is the European Forum Museum
The European Forum Museum (EMF) is a non-profit institution, registered in the United Kingdom, which, among other initiatives, provides the legal and organizational framework for the development of the European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) and Council of Europe Museum Award .
EMYA was founded in 1977 with the aim of recognizing, encouraging, rewarding and demonstrating excellence and innovation in the field of museums, in particular in the area of public quality and social responsibility.
The emphasis on the need for innovation in the museum sector was shared by the Council of Europe, which from the beginning has been an active supporter and partner of the EMF/EMYA in organizing and awarding the awards in 47 countries across Europe.
The Council of Europe Museum Prize, an important distinction in the European and professional context, not only rewards innovation – currently with an emphasis on digital and technological innovation - but emphasizes a European perspective and the articulation and interpretation in museums of citizenship, democracy, human rights , tolerance and intercultural dialogue, uniting cultures and overcoming social borders and political barriers.
The EMF is headed by a board (Board of Trustees, whose most recent meeting took place in February, precisely at the Museu de Portimão), made up of museum professionals from all over Europe.
The board appoints a maximum of thirteen and a minimum of nine judges who make up the jury for evaluating and selecting the various types of awards.
The EMYA jury members represent different professional disciplines, with extensive practical and theoretical experience in the field of museums and museology.
The promotion of nominations by European museums for the EMYA awards is supported by national correspondents, appointed for the purpose, in each of the 47 countries of the Council of Europe.
The prizes
There are two main awards:
- Or European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA)
- Or Council of Europe Museum Prize (CoE)
There are also other prizes and special mentions:
- Or Silleto Award, which recognizes excellence in working with the local community and the involvement of volunteers and museum friends
- Or Kenneth Hudson Award, which is given in recognition of the most unexpected and daring museum or a museum that challenges the normal perception of the role of museums in society
- and Mention for Sustainability and others Special mentions are awarded to museums that demonstrate excellence in particular aspects of their work.
– and now there is also the Portimão Museum Award, to distinguish the most welcoming museum in Europe.
EMF/EMYA file
As the EMF is an organization with a history of more than four decades (1977-2018), preserving its archive is “a priority and a huge but responsible challenge”.
The EMF/EMYA Archive is composed of application documents and museum descriptions, forms, photographs and other supporting materials from more than 1000 museums, as well as publications, newsletters, judges' reports, conference records and annual award ceremonies. prizes.
As the administrative services of the EMF were relocated on several occasions and in several cities, the archive is divided into three locations: Berlin, Milan and Liverpool.
For this reason, the EMF considers that it is of “great importance to gather and locate them in one place, available for consultation, research and research in the areas of museology and heritage”.
The EMF supports all the expenses necessary for the acquisition of equipment (bookshelves and shelves), in accordance with the standards and typologies that already exist in the Historical Archives and Documentation Center (CDAH) of the Portimão Museum.
It also ensures the transfer and transport of its files from the different current locations to Portimão, providing the presence of a member of its management for the delivery and support to the CDAH team, also providing the guidelines and indications for the procedures for public access to the your files.
For the direction of the EMF, José Gameiro will assume a «formal interconnection role», as coordinator of support for the partnership between that Forum and the Portimão Chamber, and for the secretariat and archive activities.
The EMF emphasizes that Gameiro takes on this role given his «global vision and deep knowledge of the annual cycles of the organization of EMF/EMYA activities» and his «personal experience of the needs of both partners, both through the scientific direction of the Museu de Portimão, both as a member of the board of the Portuguese National Commission of the International Council of Museums (2018-2020) and for his connection to the EMF/EMYA since 2011, as a member of the jury and then, since 2015, as president of the jury of the European Museum of the Year Award and the Council of Europe Award.
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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