European Museum of the Year 2012 delas ut av European Museum Forum. I egenskap av styrelsemedlem delade Chris Torch ut priset tillsammans med värdmuseet Penafiel Municipal Museum chef Maria José Santos. Årets EMYA gick till  Museo de Madinat al-Zahra i Cordoba, Spanien.

“The Museum encompasses the important archaeological site of the 10th century capital for Muslim al-Andalus and a new museum building that serves as a research centre, visible storage, conservation and restoration facility, and as a space for exhibition and interpretation of a unique collection. The museum and the partially recovered and restored site document a magnificent, complex city, its supporting infrastructure, buildings and gardens, as well as the social organisation and everyday life of its 10,000 inhabitants.
The Madinat al-Zahra Museum functions as a visual memory of the mixed and plural past of Andalusia, and thereby as a potential bridge between different cultures also in contemporary Europe. In every aspect of its work this museum displays a high level of excellence.” / European Museum of the Year 2012 has been announced by the European Museum Forum. In the role of trustee of EMF Chris Torch presented the price together with the ceremony host Penafiel Municipal Museum’s director Maria José Santos. This years EMYA was awarded Museo de Madinat al-Zahra in Cordoba, Spain.

“The Museum encompasses the important archaeological site of the 10th century capital for Muslim al-Andalus and a new museum building that serves as a research centre, visible storage, conservation and restoration facility, and as a space for exhibition and interpretation of a unique collection. The museum and the partially recovered and restored site document a magnificent, complex city, its supporting infrastructure, buildings and gardens, as well as the social organisation and everyday life of its 10,000 inhabitants.
The Madinat al-Zahra Museum functions as a visual memory of the mixed and plural past of Andalusia, and thereby as a potential bridge between different cultures also in contemporary Europe. In every aspect of its work this museum displays a high level of excellence.”