The Europeana Network Association (ENA) is a strong movement of over 3,000 professionals, across Europe and beyond, who are united by a shared mission to expand and improve access to our digital cultural heritage. In this democratic and inclusive community, we share knowledge and experience, and engage in creative cross-border and cross-domain collaboration.
Our members are formally represented in the governance of the Europeana Initiative by representatives who they elect to the ENA Members Council, who then take decisions on their behalf. The Members Council is composed of 36 representatives, 27 of whom will complete their three year terms this year. We are therefore looking for committed future Councillors to fill their open seats, and as Chair of the ENA’s Governance Working Group, I am excited to formally kick off this year’s elections campaign!
Why stand to be a Councillor?
As a Councillor, you formally represent and champion the interests of ENA members. You can contribute to making the ENA’s governance more transparent, accountable and democratic, and help us look for new ways of adding value to ENA membership, and make it more inclusive and diverse. Councillors also get an opportunity to advise and actively help Europeana implement its Strategy and support Europeana's mission to empower the cultural heritage sector in its digital transformation.
You will have the opportunity to lead the activities of ENA communities, task forces and working groups, and in January 2022, you will be able to elect and also stand for election to the new ENA Management Board. Working formally with fellow councillors and across the network offers great opportunities to build connections with other cultural heritage practitioners. The new Council will keep working to develop ways for members to get involved and nurture close collaboration with the Europeana Aggregators’ Forum and Europeana Foundation. Learn more about the current ENA Strategic priorities.
We are looking for active and committed members, ready to bring forward these activities and available to attend meetings three times a year. To find out more about the responsibilities as a Councillor, you can read our Councillor Terms of Reference.
Stand for election
From now until 13 October 2021, we are inviting all ENA members to come forward as Members Council candidates to fill the 27 open seats.
As we aim to make the ENA more inclusive and diverse, we welcome candidates from all backgrounds and sectors relevant to Europeana, providing you are a member of the ENA. Whether you're an emerging professional new to Europeana or have many years experience in the cultural heritage sector, we want to hear from you. We welcome professionals working in research, education, copyright, technological development, creative industry, copyright, or any other area related to Europeana’s work. If you’re not a registered member yet, you still have time to sign up - make sure you do so before 1 October 2021.
Please send us your candidate profile and submit your candidacy via the button below by 13 October 2021. Please explain why you wish to run, what you stand for, and what you want to work towards as a Members Councillor. We will then formally announce the candidates on 14 October 2021, inviting each candidate to introduce and campaign themselves to the ENA. Make sure to follow the campaign using the hashtag #EuropeanaElects.
The election process
Official voting for Members Councillors begins on 3 November during the 2021 ENA General Assembly meeting. All ENA members will then have one week to vote for up to 27 candidates for the vacant seats. The voting process is anonymous.
The campaign and voting procedure will be overseen by the Voting and Elections Committee, who will guide you through the elections until the announcement of the final results. If you have any questions please get in touch with us at [email protected].
We look forward to receiving your applications!