The European Film Academy has announced that it will restructure its board membership to improve ethnic and regional diversity in 2024.

The EFA says the restructuring comes with “ample consideration and with the wish to reflect the reality of Europe today.” 15 seats will be awarded to one person from each region, and three seats will be elected not based on ethnicity or nationality. One additional seat is set aside for someone from either the Sámi (an ethnic group from Northeastern Europe) or Roma population, from wherever they might live in Europe. 

Before, Western Europe was overrepresented, with only 25% of the board seats belong to Eastern and Southern European countries. After the restructuring, the allotted seats will be split 50/50.

The 15 regions are as follows: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia;  Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein;  Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia; Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; France and Monaco; Ireland and the United Kingdom; Italy, Malta and San Marino; Poland and Ukraine; Andorra, Portugal and Spain; Turkey, Azerbaijan and Palestine; Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania; Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece and Israel; Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia; Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Current board members who were elected in December of last year will remain on the board until late 2024. Self-nominations for the region one lives in will start being accepted in August, and the new members of the board will be announced this December.