TERMS AND CONDITIONS
OF THE ICOM AWARD FOR SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE IN
MUSEUMS
Approved by the ICOM Executive Board at its 169th Session (held on the 29 February – 1 March2024).
ARTICLE 1 – PURPOSE
With the aim to contribute to implementing its 2019 Resolution “On sustainability and theimplementation of Agenda 2030, Transforming our World” adopted in Kyoto, as well as
recognising museum practices for Sustainable Development at a global level, providing
awareness-raising and learning opportunities across ICOM network related to SustainableDevelopment, promoting the roles and responsibilities of museums in Sustainable
Development and addressing the priorities in the ICOM Strategic Plan 2022-2023, namely
Global Positioning, Leadership and Climate Change, the International Council of Museums(hereinafter “ICOM” or the "Organiser") is launching the ICOM Award for Sustainable
Development Practice in Museums (hereinafter the “ICOM Award”).
ARTICLE 2 – ORGANISER
The ICOM Award is organised by ICOM, a not-for-profit association governed by the French
1901 Law of Associations, having its registered office at 15, rue Lasson, 75012 Paris, France.
ARTICLE 3 – THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The present Terms and Conditions of the ICOM Award for Sustainable Development Practicein Museums (hereinafter the “Terms and Conditions”) are intended to set out theframework within which the ICOM Award is granted and therefore are available on the ICOM
Member space https://icom.museum/en/member/ (hereinafter the “ICOM MemberSpace”).
The Terms and Conditions may be amended from time to time by the Organiser through adecision of its Executive Board without prior notice. The Organiser will inform the Candidatesof any amendment to the Terms and Conditions by publishing a new version on the ICOM
Member Space. Any change to the Terms and Conditions will go into effect once they are
published online in the ICOM Member Space.
In the event of amendments being made during a running edition of the ICOM Award, anyrejection by a Candidate of the amendments will result in his/her application being deemed
ineligible for the ICOM Award.
ARTICLE 4 – PERIODICITY AND CALENDAR
The ICOM Award is expected to be awarded once every three (3) years as part of the programof the ICOM General Conference.

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For each edition of the ICOM Award, a calendar (hereinafter the “Calendar”) shall be adopted
by the ICOM Secretariat.
The Calendar shall be annexed to the Terms and Conditions.
ARTICLE 5 – ICOM AWARD
The Winner of the ICOM Award shall receive a (1) unique reward specifically designed for theICOM Award. The Winner of the ICOM Award will also have the opportunity to be promoted
through the various ICOM media (such as, but not limited to, ICOM social media, ICOM
podcast, and/or ICOM Website).
The Finalists will be invited, with the financial support from ICOM, to attend the 27th ICOMGeneral Conference to be held in Dubai in 2025. They shall also receive an Award certificatefor their Projects.
An ICOM Award publication featuring the Winner, the Finalists, and outstanding Projects, thatare part of the Long-List selected by the Jury, shall be published a few months after the ICOMGeneral Conference
ARTICLE 6 – REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION
6.1. General requirements
A call for applications (hereinafter the “Call for ICOM Award Applications”) shall be open
to legal entities and/or legal persons meeting the conditions set out in Articles 6.2. and 6.3.
below (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Candidates” and individually as “Candidate”).
Each Candidate’s application shall relate to a project that shall illustrate the museum’s
contribution to the Agenda 2030 through the 5Ps (hereinafter “Project”). A Candidate canonly submit one (1) application. Should this not be the case, ICOM Secretariat and the Jury
reserve the right to discredit at any stage of the process any Candidate or Candidates who havesubmitted more than one (1) application.
The Candidate shall be in good standing, as defined by Article 3 Section 4 of ICOM Statutes, of
their ICOM annual membership fees throughout the whole process of the ICOM Award. Should
this not be the case, ICOM Secretariat and the Jury reserve the right to discredit at any stageof the process any Candidate or Candidates who is not in good standing.
6.2. Conditions related to Candidates from National Committees belonging to Categories 1and 2
When a Candidate is a Member of an ICOM National Committee belonging to Categories 1 and2, as established by the ICOM Membership grid adopted by the 38th ICOM General Assembly
held on the 9 June 2023, the Candidate shall meet all the compulsory requirements below:i.
The Candidate shall be an ICOM Institutional Member;ii.
The Candidate shall submit only one (1) Project;iii.
When fulfilling the Call for ICOM Award Applications, the Candidate shall be ingood standing with its ICOM annual membership fees for the year 2024.

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iv.

In order to be short-listed and/or receive the Award, the Candidate shall be in goodstanding with its annual membership fees for the year 2025.

6.3. Conditions related to Candidates from National Committees belonging to Categories 3,
4 and 5
When a Candidate is a Member of an ICOM National Committee belonging to Categories 3, 4and 5, as established by the ICOM Membership grid adopted by the 38th ICOM General
Assembly held on the 9 June 2023, the Candidate shall meet all the compulsory requirements
below:v.
The Candidate shall be either an ICOM Institutional Member or an ICOM
Individual Member if their museum is not an ICOM Institutional Member. In thatcase, the ICOM Individual Member carries out the application process on behalf ofthe museum where he/she works, attaching a letter of support from their museum.
vi.
The Candidate shall submit only one (1) Project;vii.
When fulfilling the Call for ICOM Award Applications, the Candidate shall be ingood standing with its ICOM annual membership fees for the year 2024.
viii.
In order to be short-listed and/or receive the Award, the Candidate shall be in goodstanding with its Membership fee for the year 2025.
6.4. Conditions relating to the Project
The Project submitted shall meet all the compulsory requirements below:
i.
ii.
iii.

The Project shall have been carried out between January 2022 and August 2024.
The Project shall be endorsed by one (1) ICOM Body, such as defined by Article 6.5.
of the Terms and Conditions
Joint applications between different Candidates are not possible, however, Projects
can mention partnerships within the Application Form.

6.5. Endorsement by one (1) of the ICOM Bodies
The Project shall be endorsed by one (1) of the following ICOM Bodies: one (1) ICOM National
Committee or one (1) ICOM International Committee or one (1) Regional Alliances or one (1)Affiliated Organisation (hereinafter collectively referred to as “ICOM Bodies” andindividually as “ICOM Body”)
In order to be able to endorse a Project, the ICOM Bodies shall have taken part in one (1) of themandatory online Capacity Building session (see Article 7 of the Terms and Conditions)organised by ICOM.
Each ICOM National Committee shall be entitled to endorse Projects submitted by Candidates
from their National Committee.
Each ICOM International Committee shall be entitled to endorse Projects from Candidates oftheir International Committee, but also from Candidates not belonging to the InternationalCommittee. However, the ICOM International Committee on Museums and Sustainable
Development (hereinafter “ICOM SUSTAIN”) shall not be entitled to endorse Projects.

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Each ICOM Regional Alliance shall be entitled to endorse Projects submitted by Candidates
from a National Committee of their Regional Alliance.
Each ICOM Affiliated Organisations shall be entitled to endorse Projects.
ARTICLE 7 - MANDATORY ONLINE CAPACITY BUILDING SESSION
In order to be able to endorse a Project, each ICOM Body shall register and participate in one(1) of the mandatory online Capacity Building session organised by ICOM Secretariat(hereafter the “Capacity Building Session”).
The Capacity Building Session shall be organised by the ICOM Secretariat and other relevant
partners if necessary. The date(s) and the conditions for registration shall be communicated tothe ICOM Membership in due course.
When registering for one (1) of the Capacity Building Session, each ICOM Body shall appoint
one (1) of its members to manage the endorsement process (hereinafter the “ICOM BodyRepresentative”).
To validate the participation of its ICOM Body, the ICOM Body Representative shall attend theCapacity Building Session. The ICOM Secretariat shall check and validate the participation ofeach ICOM Body Representative.
The list of the ICOM Bodies that are entitled to sign the Award endorsement letter shall be
published by the ICOM Secretariat before the opening of the Call of ICOM Award Applications.
A template for the ICOM Award endorsement letter shall be provided by the ICOM Secretariat
to the ICOM Bodies. Potential Candidates can contact the authorised ICOM Bodies listed onthe Website for an endorsement.
ARTICLE 8 – CANDIDATE PARTICIPATION
In order to participate in the ICOM Award and submit its candidacy, the Candidate shall duly
respond to the Call for ICOM Award Application on the Website within the deadlines sets out
by the ICOM Secretariat and complete the Application Form issued by the ICOM Secretariat(hereinafter the “Application Form”).
Candidates will be required to formally approve the Terms and Conditions when submitting
their application.
ARTICLE 9 – APPLICATION FORM
The Application Form shall be accessible on the Website in the three official languages of ICOM(English, French and Spanish) and requires, at least, the following information:i.
ii.

Information on the Candidate: name of the Candidate, ICOM Membershipnumber, proof of payment of the Membership fees for the year 2023 and/or 2024.
Description of the Project: description of the Project objectives (the ways the one
or more criteria (5Ps) are addressed within the Project), and results achieved.

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Endorsement by one (1) ICOM Body: The Project shall be supported by the ICOMAward endorsement letter signed by the ICOM Body Representative and the Chair ofthe ICOM Body.

All elements sent by the Candidate in the Application Form will be made public if the Projectsubmitted by the Candidate is selected in the Long-list (hereinafter referred to as the “PublicContent”).
ARTICLE 10 – THE JURY
10.1. Composition of the Jury
The Jury, that will carry out the selection, shall be composed of seven (7) members consistingof four (4) Museum Experts and two (2) Sustainable Development Experts (collectivelyreferred to as the “Jury Expert Members”). In addition to the Jury Expert Members, theJury shall be chaired by the Chair of ICOM SUSTAIN (referred to as the “Chair of the Jury”).
Together the Jury Expert Members and the Chair of the Jury shall be referred to as the “Jury”.
10.2. Selection process
The Jury Expert Members shall be selected by ICOM following an open call for applications
for the Jury (hereinafter “the Jury Call for Applications”). The rules applicable to the Jury
Call for Applications and the selection process are defined and provided by the ICOMSecretariat with the Jury Call for Applications.
The ICOM Secretariat, together with the Chair of ICOM SUSTAIN and an external Expert
Advisor shall review the candidacies and select the Jury in consultation with the ICOM
President, the Director General, and the Chairperson of the Advisory Council.
The selection shall take into consideration the need for equitable geographical representation,balanced gender representation, the risk of possible conflicts of interest as well as practicalexpertise in museums and sustainable development.
10.3. Jury Terms of Reference
The organisation and the mandate of the Jury will be governed by Terms of reference(hereinafter the “Jury Terms of Reference”). The Jury Terms of Reference will be publishedat the same time as the Jury Call for Applications on the Website.
ARTICLE 11 - REVIEW AND SHORTLISTING
Once the Call for ICOM Award Application is closed, the ICOM Secretariat shall review if theconditions regarding the Candidates and the Projects, set out in Article 6 of the Terms andConditions, are met. If a Project does not meet the compulsory requirements, it will be deemed
ineligible for the ICOM Award.
Only Projects considered eligible by the ICOM Secretariat will be forwarded to the Jury andwill be published as the Long-list. On the basis of the Jury Terms of Reference and the Jury
Guidelines sent to it by the ICOM Secretariat, the Jury shall evaluate the eligible Projects.
The Jury shall examine eligible Projects that have been submitted during the ICOM Award
Call for applications and use their expertise and the evaluation tools provided in the Jury

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Guidelines by the ICOM Secretariat to assess eligible Projects according to the set criteria infour (4) phases:- In a first stage, the Jury shall analyse the eligible Projects on the Long-list in order toselect up to twenty-five (25) Projects for a Short-list;- In a second stage, the Jury shall designate up to five (5) Finalists of the ICOM Award(hereinafter the “Finalists”).
- In the final stage, the Jury shall determine the (1) Winner.
ARTICLE 12 – ANNOUCEMENT OF THE FINALISTSAt least two (2) months ahead of the Award Ceremony, the Jury shall conclude the selection ofthe Finalists of the ICOM Award.
The Finalists shall be invited, with the financial support from ICOM, to attend the 27th ICOMGeneral Conference to be held in Dubai in 2025 in order to participate in the Award Ceremony.
ARTICLE 13 – SELECTION OF THE WINNER
The Jury will select the Award winner (hereinafter the “Winner”).
Only one (1) Project can obtain the ICOM Award. Under no circumstances may there be an exaequo ICOM Award.
ARTICLE 14 – AWARD CEREMONY
The name of the Winner will be announced during the Award Ceremony that shall be held at
the 27th ICOM General Conference (hereinafter the “Award Ceremony”).
The Award Ceremony shall be organised by ICOM Secretariat.
ARTICLE 15 – INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
It is expressly agreed by the Candidate that the information related to the Project submitted
during the Call for application will be an integral part of the Public Content.
Public Content may be used by the ICOM and its ICOM Bodies for purposes of presenting,announcing, and promoting the Award, the Candidates and the Project.
ARTICLE 16 – LIABILITYThe Organiser shall not incur any liability in the event of force majeure (i.e. unforeseeable andirresistible act of nature) as defined by French courts harm the organisation and managementof the Award.
ARTICLE 17 - SEVERABILITY
In the event that one or more of the provisions contained in the Terms and Conditions are, for
any reason whatsoever, found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, suchinvalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect the other provisions of the Terms andConditions.

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ARTICLE 18 – LANGUAGESThe Terms and Conditions have been drawn up in English. In case of inconsistency between
the English version of the Terms and Conditions and other available translations, the Englishversion will prevail.
ARTICLE 19 – GOVERNING LAW
The Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with French law,
without regard to its conflict of law rules.
Participation in the Award implies acceptance of these Terms and Conditions without
reservation or restriction.
In the event of a dispute between the Organiser and the Candidate, all concerned Parties
undertake to settle the matter in good faith. In the event that a settlement proves impossible,
any dispute arising from the present Terms and Conditions or related thereto concerning theinterpretation, performance or termination of the Terms and Conditions or all matters inconnection therewith or deriving from the same, the courts of France shall have solejurisdiction if the dispute cannot be resolved by mediation.

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Adopted by the ICOM Secretariat
05/02/2024
Annex 1: CALENDAR OF THE ICOM AWARD

The estimated calendar for the First edition of the ICOM Award, that will be granted during
the 27th ICOM General Conference in Dubai in November 2025, is as follows:
December 2023: Announcement of the Award
February 2024: Participation in one (1) of the mandatory Capacity Building sessions
March 2024 – April 2024: Call for international Jury application
March 2024 – September 2024: Call for ICOM Award application
October - November 2024: Eligibility check by the ICOM Secretariat
December 2024: Long list of Projects is announced on the Website;
June 2025: Short list of Projects is announced on the Website;
September 2025: Announcement of the Finalists
November 2025 (ICOM General Conference): Announcement of the Winner during the 27th
ICOM General Conference.
These dates are indicative. They may be changed at the discretion of ICOM Secretariat if
circumstances so require. ICOM may also curtail, suspend, postpone, modify, or cancel theorganisation of the Award without being held liable, and without any damages or lack ofopportunity to the Candidates arising therefrom, even at the stages of Short-listed selection bythe Jury or in the process of the Winner selection.

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