The 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory was awarded the 2023 Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity at the European Museum of the Year Awards Ceremony, which has been given by the European Museum Forum since 1977.

The award is named after Kenneth Hudson, a journalist, museologist and writer who is also the founder of the European Museum of the Year Awards (EMYA).

The Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity is given by the European Museum Forum board to a museum, a group or an individual to celebrate courageous museum practices that challenge and expand common perceptions of the role and responsibilities of museums in society. 33 candidates from 19 countries competed at the European Museum of the Year Awards where 6 museums received awards in different categories.

The EMYA jury awarded the Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity to 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory for its holistic and universal approach to human rights, for its contributions to social transformation and democratization and for shedding light on the past while acting for the future. 

The award speech

Thank you very much for acknowledging our work by honoring us with this meaningful and prestigious award. Each award is a celebration, however for us each award also represents a dilemma. We wish we lived in a world where we only built and created museums that would celebrate life, cherish diversity, co-existence, human rights, peace and acknowledge the courageous efforts of wonderful people while they were alive.

Remembering and dealing with the past is a sort of resistance and a different form of activism that sparks transformative change within communities. 23.5 acts as a space that encourages people to deal with the past while also functioning as a space for dialogue, communication and comprehension. Since January 19th 2007, which marks the day when Hrant Dink was killed, our hearts are wounded and we are trying to heal our wounds through our mission and work. 23.5 offers a unique life story - not every life story can be exhibited. But at the same time killing someone doesn’t mean that that person is dead. As Hrant Dink’s wife Rakel Dink said, each death is a journey to eternity and we are aware how his death produced thousands of seeds.

As Iranian poet Füruğ Ferruhzad said, the bird may die, keep the flight in mind. Hrant Dink’s flight is still continuing, through the work of the Hrant Dink Foundation, through the work of the 23.5 Hrant Dink Site of Memory. His vision and the values he endorsed are inspiring, encouraging many minds and many hearts.

This award is very meaningful as it has ‘courage’ in its name. Horatius once said Sapere Aude, which means “dare to know”, “be brave to know”. We should be courageous and be unafraid of the truth, because the more we are afraid of it, we know that the ghosts of the past will haunt us forever. We should not deny it.

We would like to express our thanks to our entire team at the Hrant Dink Foundation, our board members, advisory board members and our team members who worked very hard, day and night for the creation of our memory site despite all the challenges and despite all the difficulties. And most importantly I would like to thank Hrant Dink’s family for harnessing their incredible pain into power and into action.