Casa Batlló celebra a Bruxelles il Premio del Patrimonio Europeo – Premio Europa Nostra 2025 per il suo impegno verso la neurodiversità.
BARCELONA – On Monday evening in Brussels, Casa Batlló celebrated the European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award 2025, granted for its pioneering model of inclusive heritage management and commitment to neurodiversity.
The award, presented by Europa Nostra and the European Commission under the Creative Europe program, recognizes exemplary projects in the conservation, management, and promotion of Europe’s cultural heritage. Casa Batlló was honored in the Citizen Engagement & Awareness Raising category for its initiative “Integrating Neurodiversity in World Heritage.”
During the ceremony, held at the historic Flagey building in Brussels, representatives from European cultural institutions and heritage leaders highlighted the transformative impact of Casa Batlló’s project.
“The project carries a strong message about social responsibility in the heritage sector. It also creates a new standard for inclusive cultural heritage management that could inspire other institutions to adopt similar practices,” highlighted the Jury during the awards ceremony.
“True inclusion means respecting one another as individuals and valuing difference as a gift. Only by being unique can we bring value to institutions, to society, and to the world,” said Ana María Acosta, the project’s manager.
“When we started, many thought it was madness to integrate neurodiversity into World Heritage management. Today, this award proves that bold projects can transform realities. This recognition is not only for Casa Batlló, but also—and especially—for all the neurodivergent people who make our daily work possible,” added Ana María Acosta, who accepted the award in Brussels on behalf of the team.
Since 2021, Casa Batlló has been developing an employment inclusion project in collaboration with Specialisterne, an organization specializing in employment for neurodivergent people. Currently, more than 100 neurodivergent people work alongside 60 neurotypical colleagues in visitor service roles, in a model that has transformed the museum experience and strengthened team cohesion.
Casa Batlló’s inclusive approach redefines heritage management: it adapts roles and environments to individual strengths, reviews training and mentoring processes, and generates measurable impact on service quality and public awareness.
“This recognition reaffirms our commitment to a more human and inclusive culture. It is an opportunity to rethink the vital relationship between heritage and the people who work within it,” said Gary Gautier, CEO of Casa Batlló.
The initiative has been accompanied by awareness campaigns such as “Neurodiversity With New Eyes,” which remains active on social media, promoting a more empathetic and diverse perspective within the cultural and educational fields.
This international recognition consolidates Casa Batlló as a European leader in inclusion and accessibility within World Heritage and encourages the cultural sector to move towards more human, representative, and sustainable models.