SHNH President’s Award 2027 – Nominations open

The SHNH President’s Award recognises an individual or team’s contribution and impact in promoting and improving accessibility, inclusivity and diversity to the study of the history of natural history.

The winner receives the SHNH President’s Medal, to be presented at the Annual General Meeting of the Society.

Nominations are now open and should be sent to the Secretary (secretary@shnh.org.uk) by 1 March 2027.

Guidelines

Award winners are chosen by the Council of the Society.
Nominations, which open on 01 October, can be made by members and non-members of the Society.
Nominations close on 1 March the following year.
SHNH members and non-members can be nominated for this prize, which is open to nominees based in the UK and internationally; individuals and teams can be nominated. There are no age restrictions associated with this prize.

Nomination

Nominations must be sent to the Secretary (secretary@shnh.org.uk) and include the following:

Your name as a nominator and your contact details.
The nominee’s name and contact details.
A supporting statement (up to 600 words) describing why the nominee should receive the award. Testimonials may be useful supporting evidence but are not required (these can be emailed to the Secretary).

Selection Criteria

Nominees should demonstrate one or more of the following criteria:

An exhibition that has broken new ground of attracted new audiences. This includes digital exhibitions.
Implementing initiatives to promote a more inclusive and diverse research and study community.
Championing diversity through leadership and new policies and/or through research.
Extent of engagement with the intended audience.
Originality and innovation.
Impact (may be relevant to any audiences, including different age groups, career stages and sectors).

The SHNH President’s Award 2026

SHNH is delighted to award the SHNH President’s Award 2026 to Manchester Museum. The Award recognises an individual or team’s contribution and impact in promoting and improving accessibility, inclusivity and diversity to the study of the history of natural history.

The Manchester Museum has been ‘Championing diversity through leadership and new policies’ with decision making on restitution and decolonisation of its collections being undertaken in consultation with its entire staff. It has been recognising and acting on ways to redress its past colonial heritage and ensuring restitution of significant cultural and other items within its collections.

The achievements of staff working in the Manchester Museum include restitution to communities of origin, as well as co-curation with diaspora communities on how to display connections, with social justice work within the museum helping to build trust and healing with people in Manchester and elsewhere.

Some examples of their recent work include:

The unconditional repatriation by the Manchester Museum of secret sacred objects to communities of origin helps create healing, justice and reconciliation. This has included formal ceremonies for the return of indigenous objects in 2020. https://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/return-of-43-aboriginal-objects
The story of the ‘Dadikwakwa-kwa come out to play’ shell dolls is a particularly moving example of trust being built between the Anindilyakwa People, of Groote Eylandt, through the return of their lost cultural heritage and a reciprocal agreement where some of those objects were returned to Manchester, with conditions ensuring their continued ‘use’ by local children. https://youtu.be/izj1RGxWDyk
Restitution of museum specimens has also been undertaken, returning biological specimen material to Jamaica to fill gaps in their holdings of indigenous natural history.
The ‘Decolonise trail’ reinterpreting the museum displays in the Africa Hub, South Asia gallery and Belonging gallery, where co-production and foregrounding the voices and knowledge of Indigenous and diaspora communities have been central https://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/decolonise/ .

The practise of social justice at Manchester Museum has helped to inform all the work they do – from the communities they work with, to the stories told across galleries, from the accessible facilities in the building to the practices that shape how we take care of the collections.