Recognising Those Who Make Skål Stronger
Every organisation is shaped by people who decide to contribute something more.
They create opportunities, bring people together, develop new initiatives, strengthen their Clubs, support other members, build bridges and sometimes simply take responsibility when something needs to be done.
The Skål Europe Special Awards 2026 recognise members whose actions have made a significant contribution to Skål.
Unlike the Sustainability and Tourism Technology Awards, the Special Awards do not recognise professional projects outside the organisation.
They recognise what members do for Skål and within Skål.
The Awards provide Clubs with an opportunity to bring these contributions to the attention of the wider European membership and to recognise people whose work deserves to be known beyond their immediate Club or community.
Recognition Through Action
A Special Award is not connected to a particular office, title or position within Skål.
Leadership can be exercised from many places within an organisation.
A Club may therefore nominate a member who has, for example:
- revitalised or strengthened a Club;
- contributed significantly to membership development or engagement;
- encouraged the participation of younger professionals and Young Skål;
- created a successful initiative in networking, education, communication, events or another area of Skål activity;
- developed relationships or partnerships that have strengthened Skål’s presence and relevance;
- encouraged cooperation between Clubs, countries or different parts of the organisation;
- contributed exceptional time, knowledge or professional expertise to Skål;
- introduced an idea or way of working that has produced meaningful results;
- supported other members or Clubs in ways that have had a lasting positive effect;
- demonstrated exceptional commitment to the values and purposes of Skål.
These examples are deliberately not categories.
They illustrate the many different ways in which members can contribute to the organisation.
A contribution does not need to fit into any predefined definition to deserve recognition.
Clubs Nominate Their Members
Special Award nominations must be presented by a Skål Club.
Self-nominations are not accepted.
The nominating Club should explain what the member has achieved, why the contribution is significant and why it deserves recognition at European level.
The emphasis should be on the achievement and its effects, rather than on positions held or length of service alone.
Long and dedicated service can certainly deserve recognition, but the purpose of the Special Awards is not simply to reward seniority.
We want to understand what the nominee has contributed and what difference that contribution has made.
No Fixed Categories
The Skål Europe Special Awards intentionally have no predefined categories.
The contribution of one member may concern membership development. Another may have rebuilt a Club. Someone else may have created an extraordinary event, established an important partnership, developed a new educational initiative or connected people and Clubs that previously rarely worked together.
Trying to place all these contributions into fixed categories would risk overlooking precisely what makes them special.
Each nomination will therefore be considered on its own merits and in its particular context.
What Makes a Contribution Significant?
The Special Awards are not based on a numerical scoring system.
In considering nominations, the Skål Europe Board, acting as the Jury, will look at the significance of the member’s contribution and the difference it has made within Skål.
Particular attention will be given to the initiative demonstrated, the value created for members or the organisation, the commitment behind the achievement and the effects that resulted from it.
Scale alone is not decisive.
A member whose actions transformed a small Club may have contributed just as significantly as someone whose initiative reached members across several countries.
What matters is the value of the achievement in its own context.
Making Good Examples Visible
Recognition is important, but so is example.
When somebody finds an effective way to engage members, rebuild a Club, create cooperation, involve younger professionals, develop an initiative or solve a problem within Skål, that experience may be useful elsewhere in our organisation.
The Special Awards therefore also allow Skål Europe to tell these stories.
Where appropriate, nominated achievements may be presented through articles, interviews and other editorial content on skaleurope.org, helping members throughout Europe discover what their fellow Skålleagues are doing.
A good example becomes more valuable when others can learn from it.
Evaluation and Recognition
Nominations will be considered by the Skål Europe Board, acting as the Jury of the Skål Europe Awards 2026.
Special Awards are considered individually and qualitatively. There is no ranking of nominees and no requirement for the Board to select a fixed number of recipients.
The purpose is to recognise contributions that, in the judgement of the Board, deserve particular recognition within the European Skål community.
The Special Awards will be presented during the Skål Europe Annual General Assembly in November 2026. The date and location will be announced separately.
How to Nominate
Special Award nominations must be submitted by a Skål Club. Self-nominations are not accepted.
The nomination should explain clearly what the member has achieved, the circumstances in which the contribution was made, its significance and the results or effects that followed.
Full information concerning language, photographs, supporting materials, media, publication conditions and submission procedures is available in:
Skål Europe Awards 2026 – How to Participate
The deadline for nominations is:
31 October 2026
Who in Your Club Deserves to Be Known Across Europe?
Every Club has people who contribute.
Some contributions are highly visible. Others happen quietly, through persistence, initiative, generosity, competence or the ability to bring people together.
The Skål Europe Special Awards are an opportunity for Clubs to look at their own members and ask a simple question:
Who has done something that deserves to be known beyond our Club?
Tell us their story.
Let us recognise their contribution.
And let their example inspire others.
