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Dr. Rocío Nogales Muriel wins the 2020 ENCATC Research Award

Dr. Rocío Nogales Muriel wins the 2020 ENCATC Research Award

Dr. Rocío Nogales Muriel has won the 2020 ENCATC Research Award on Cultural Policy and Management for her doctoral thesis “Social transformation and social innovation in the field of culture: The case of the SMart model and its adaptation across Europe” obtained from the Center for the Study of Culture, Politics and Society (CECUPS) at the University of Barcelona in Spain.

The 2020 Award winner was revealed at the annual ENCATC Research Award Ceremony. Due to the COVID-19 context, this year the ceremony took place online on the last day of the 2020 ENCATC Digital Congress “Cultural management and policy in a post-digital world – navigating uncertainty” (3-11 November).

A global audience of leading academics, renowned researchers, cultural professionals, and policy makers gathered virtually with representatives from the European Commission for the announcement of this year’s winner. Speaking on behalf of the Award’s International Jury, Francesca Imperiale, ENCATC President and Award Jury President, said: “The Jury’s choice was certainly not an easy one this year. The Jury decided to award this year’s recognition to a work that is solid at the theoretical level, but which is particularly valuable for the applicability of the theoretical knowledge. The topic of the research by the elected is not only highly interesting for the ENCATC membership, but it also perfectly fits in the European scheme and the purpose of this ENCATC Research Award. Also, she showed deep knowledge of the topic and was able to defend it very well today.”

ENCATC was very honoured to have Catherine Magnant, Head of the Unit in charge of Culture Policy, DG EAC, European Commission, give the opening speech as well as deliver the highly anticipated Award announcement. Ms. Magnant said: “The ENCATC Research Award, policy developments and support measures are all going in the same direction: supporting and improving the sustainability of the research and education sectors to also serve society and its citizens. A prominent actor of the European and cultural and creative sector, ENCATC has successfully managed to leave a mark on the way cultural policies are designed, implemented, but also taught and researched. ENCATC has tirelessly advocated throughout almost three decades for innovative education models for cultural managers, not only in Europe, but also worldwide.”

The winner, Dr. Rocío Nogales Muriel expressed her special gratitude to receive the ENCATC Research Award and its prestigious international recognition: “I would like to thank ENCATC and members of the Award’s international jury for maintaining this opportunity for early career researchers. I also like to recognise my fellow finalists for the inspiring work they are conducting. I was so honoured to be part of this talented group of women. I am privileged to join the dynamic and diverse ENCATC research community and I look forward to future collaborations.”

Dr. Rocío Nogales Muriel will have her work published in the ENCATC Book Series on Cultural Management and Cultural Policy Education, by P.I.E. Peter Lang, an international publishing group based in Switzerland and operating throughout the world.

ENCATC is profoundly proud of its Research Award scheme for its proven capacity to promote the careers of young researchers at the global level. The speakers attending the 2020 Congress have also called for more interdisciplinarity in cultural education and for exploiting digital connections to make researchers more interconnected at a global level. I am strongly convinced that the ENCATC Award is the best instrument nowadays to achieve these important objectives. This 2020 Award ceremony is our first digital edition. It was an intensive learning experience and I want to congratulate the ENCATC staff for their brilliant performance,” concluded ENCATC Secretary General, GiannaLia Cogliandro Beyens.

Alongside the 2020 winner, the finalists were praised for their relevant contributions to the field of cultural management and policy research: Dr. Ali FitzGibbon, for her doctoral thesis: “The Artist in the Room: An investigation of the independent artist as stakeholder in the decision-making of subsidised theatre in the UK” obtained from the Queen’s University Belfast in the United Kingdom; Dr. Eman Kandil, doctoral thesis: “The EcoMuseums: An Approach for the Preservation of Heritage Attributes in Egypt’s Historic Urbanism” obtained from the Menoufia University in Egypt; and Dr. Anastasiia Sedova, doctoral thesis: “Spaces ‘Out of Religious Use’ and ecclesiastic architecture as marketable real estate assets: A potential solution for Russia’s abandoned religious heritage artifacts” obtained from the Politecnico di Milano in Italy.

Launched in 2014, the ENCATC Award is the only international Award recognizing excellence in cultural policy and cultural management research. This prestigious recognition exists to stimulate academic research in the field of cultural policy and cultural management, to explore contemporary issues at stake and possibly anticipate new cultural policy orientations through comparative and cross-cultural research. Moreover, the Award aims to contribute to the process of creating an infrastructure, a network of researchers who are doing comparative research projects in cultural policy and management issues. The Award also has the generous support from the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

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