2025 ICOM Sustainability Award Shortlist.

The Shared Island Stories Transnational Youth Exchange between the island communities of Barbados and the Outer Hebrides in Scotland has been shortlisted for the International Council of Museums (ICOM) Award for Sustainable Development Practice in Museums.

From an impressive pool of 130 longlisted projects spanning 60 countries, 25 projects were shortlisted by the ICOM Award Jury as exemplary practices that contribute to the sustainable development of our societies. The shortlisted initiatives demonstrate innovation across the five project categories of People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. They were evaluated on their contribution to the UN SDG targets and Agenda 2030, the tangible impact and results achieved, their inclusivity, and the outcomes generated in relation to their inputs.

The Shared Island Stories transnational youth exchange, led by Research Fellow Jamie Allan Brown, empowers young people to engage with climate action, heritage, and sustainable development. Since 2022, the programme has addressed interconnected challenges such as the climate emergency, coastal erosion, at-risk youth, heritage decline, and economic instability in island communities and contexts. Working closely with Education and Community Outreach Officer Kaye Hall at the Barbados Museum & Historical Society (BMHS), the exchange has encouraged young people to reflect on shared colonial histories and present-day issues. It equips participants with the tools to become agents of change through heritage-based workshops, intergenerational knowledge sharing, and international collaboration framed around the UN SDGs.

The youth exchange has collaborated closely with BMHS and with community stakeholders in Scotland, including the West Harris Trust, Isle of Harris and Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn (Galson Estate Trust), Isle of Lewis.

The transnational youth exchange forms part of the wider five-year research project Shared Island Stories between Scotland and the Caribbean: Past, Present, Future, coordinated by the School of Art History and led by Principal Investigator Professor Karen Brown.

The research will be presented at the 27th ICOM General Conference 2025 in Dubai this November, where research from the School of Art History will be showcased on the global stage. Through the promotion of a youth-led climate resolution, Shared Island Stories aims to influence international museum policy by placing young people’s voices and climate action at the centre of debates on the future of museums.

This research project was selected by the European Research Council (ERC) and funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) with reference: EP/X023036/1. It is coordinated by the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews.