ENCATC recognitions

Award for Outstanding Contribution

Recognizing impact and legacy in culture

The ENCATC Award for Outstanding contribution to cultural management, education, research, and policy is a biennial accolade established in 2019 to celebrate the Network's twenty-fifth anniversary. It represents the highest expression of recognition to exceptional achievements in developing and sustaining innovative and consistent approaches that contribute to positive changes in cultural education, research, management and policy.

The Award aligns with ENCATC's mission, emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach and values such as sustainability, resilience, engagement, tolerance and dialogue, interaction and participation, and lifelong learning. It also adheres to principles of inclusion, promotion of values and ethics in education and research, European and international networking and cooperation, and cross-fertilization.

The Award serves as a testament to ENCATC's commitment to being one of society's most active global actors. In 2023, the Award's reach was expanded to individuals, groups, or institutions worldwide.

Recognizing impact and legacy in culture

The Award is designed to acknowledge and honour visionary leadership, creativity, and contribution in education, research, policy, and advocacy within cultural management and/or policy. The following areas of impact are taken into account:

Transformational leadership in cultural management of cultural organisations / institutions
Innovative and creative contributions to research in the cultural management and/or cultural policy field
Advocacy efforts that have a significant impact on the broader cultural policy landscape
Contributions that have broken new ground in the cultural management and policy discipline and/or laid the groundwork for others.

The ENCATC Award encompasses a diploma and entails a two-year engagement period within the ENCATC community. Winning the ENCATC Outstanding Contribution Award comes with numerous benefits, including:

Recognition: The award is a prestigious recognition of outstanding value to the field of cultural management and policy.
Increased Visibility: The winner of the award receives extensive media coverage, providing an opportunity to showcase their work to a global audience.
Networking Opportunities: The award ceremony is attended by key international players in the cultural sector, providing a platform for the winner to connect with other professionals and potential partners.
Access to Information: The winner gains a life time access to a network of cultural management and policy experts, providing access to valuable opportunities, information and resources.
Professional Development: Winning the award can boost the winner's career prospects and provide opportunities for professional development.
Motivation: Winning the award serves as a catalyst, providing a significant boost of motivation and inspiration to the recipient, further fuelling their commitment to continue delivering outstanding value to the field of cultural management and policy.

Individual candidates may be of any nationality and reside in any country worldwide.
Group candidates must consist of two or more people of any nationality and may reside in any country worldwide, whether in a formal or non-formal collaboration.
Institutional candidates must have a legal entity and may be registered in any country worldwide.

Candidates can be selected from both ENCATC members and non-ENCATC members. The Award cannot be granted posthumously.

Ernesto Ottone Ramírez is the winner of the 2025 edition

Mr. Ernesto Ottone Ramírez, Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO, is the winner of the 2025 edition of the ENCATC Award for Outstanding Contribution.

During his experience at UNESCO, he has been leading global initiatives in cultural policy, heritage protection, and creative industries since 2018. A Chilean cultural policy expert and international cultural manager, between 2015 and 2018 he served as Chile’s Minister President of the National Council of Culture and the Arts, and later as the country’s Minister of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage.

The Award Panel, an interdisciplinary group integrated by 11 ENCATC members from different world regions, evaluated and assessed all nominations recognizing Mr. Ernesto Ottone Ramírez for his visionary leadership and dedication. His commitment has significantly shaped the global cultural landscape, positioning culture as a pillar of sustainable development, social inclusion, and peace. His career reflects the support for culture in both theory and practice. Mr. Ernesto Ottone Ramírez has been instrumental in steering UNESCO’s cultural agenda during pivotal moments, such as the 2022 Mondiacult conference, where culture was recognized as a global public good for the first time in decades. His efforts have redefined global cultural policy frameworks and elevated the role of culture within international development discourse.

Download the press release of the announcement.

Learn criteria and rules of procedure of the Award.

Ernesto Ottone Ramírez is the winner of the 2025 edition

JURY

Gerald Lidstone, President, ENCATC, Director of the Institute for Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship (ICCE), Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom;

Lluís Bonet, 2023 Award Laureate, Director of the Cultural Management Programme, University of Barcelona, Spain;

Wu Chieh-Hsiang, Executive Director, TACPS, Professor, National Changhua University of Education, Taipei;

Dan Green, Director of the Master of Entertainment Industry Management Program, Carnegie Mellon University, USA;

Francesca Imperiale, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Università del Salento, Italy;

Xiao Lu, Assistant Professor, School of Cultural Technology, XJTLU Entrepreneur College, China;

Mbuyamba Lupwishi, Executive Director, Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa, Mozambique;

Héctor Schargorodsky, Professor, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Elena Theodoulou Charalambous, Cultural policy advisor, Ministry of Education and Culture (Cyprus);

Lidia Varbanova, Programme Director, Management of Performing Arts and Industries, National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov”, Bulgaria;

Catarina Vaz Pinto, Councillor of culture, City of Lisbon, Portugal;