POLIN Museum wins 2017 Europa Nostra Award

Taube Philanthropies is proud to announce that the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews has won the 2017 Europa Nostra award for its educational program on Jewish cultural heritage. The Europa Nostra is Europe's top honor recognizing cultural heritage – celebrating institutions and organizations for outstanding achievements in the fields of conservation, research, education, training and raising awareness. This is the first time an institution from Poland has won this prestigious award.

The Jewish cultural heritage program is a multifaceted educational project, with a broad range of activities that encourage discovery and discussion of the history of Polish Jews.

The museum, in aiming to educate and conserve the memory of Jewish people, especially in organizing meetings between members of the Jewish community and others, has established a safe place for intercultural dialogue. This serves as an important lesson for our contemporary world.

– Selection Jury

The POLIN Museum presents a 1,000-year history of Jews in Poland. Since its launch in 2013, the educational program has organized 3,200 activities, attracted 445,000 participants in 240 towns and localities, and over five million visitors on the museum's website.

Photo by Wojciech Kryński

Europa Nostra and the European Commission recognized 29 laureates for achievements in various categories for conservation, research and dedicated service to cultural heritage. The winners were selected by an independent jury of experts from a pool of 202 applications submitted by cultural institutions from 39 European countries. The POLIN and other Europa Nostra winners will be honored at a special event on May 15 in Finland.