European Association Awards

Celebrating excellence in the Association community

About

The European Association Awards honour inspiring projects and their dedicated professionals behind them who usually stay out of the spotlight. Their purpose is to highlight best practices and spread knowledge exchange within the community. The ceremony will be held in Brussels during the European Association Summit on 26 March 2026.

What’s in it for the Winners?

- Take the stage at the Awards Ceremony and hold your trophy in front of 300 association professionals

- Get a video interview showcasing your winning project

- See your case study published in Boardroom Magazine

- Gain the opportunity to present your case study later in the year to an engaged ESAE audience

4 Categories

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Rewards projects built around the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, either within the Association, or externally, with regard to its members, stakeholders, or the general public. The Award will also consider the concrete impact of the presented projects.

Digital Communication

Rewards the use of innovative digital tools in the optimisation of an Association's outreach or of its ability to represent the interests of its members towards institutions and the general public.

Event Innovation

Rewards innovation in the rethinking of an Association's meetings and events. It can pertain to the design and format of an event, or to the use of new technologies to make it more inclusive, efficient, sustainable, or able to reach more stakeholders.

Impact

Rewards projects focusing on the overarching vision and values of an Association rather than on its day-to-day operations. This can include a legacy project, a charity initiative, a mentoring or educational programme, or a policy impact.

After registrations are closed, the Secretariat verify eligibility. Applications are shared with the jury for evaluation.

Application Process

Any Association (i.e.: membership-based, not-for-profit, organisation) conducting some of its activities in Europe can apply, regardless of whether it is an ESAE member or not.
Nominations from Association Management companies directly, public authorities or corporate entities are not eligible.
An Association can apply for two different categories but with different projects.
After registering to the platform, applicants can begin their submission by providing a title and short description, KPIs used, as well as quantitative data, including overall budget and measurements. Finally, they will be asked for the lessons learned and the future steps aligned with their organisation's mission and vision.
Applications can be saved and be resumed at a later stage if not all data is in hand.