Young European Heritage Makers 2022

Young European Heritage Makers is a competition for children and young people to encourage exploration, discovery and expression of their heritage.

What is it?

Children and young people play a crucial role in the future of heritage protection and promotion and are a precious source of creative ideas and contributions to the field of heritage in general.

Young European Heritage Makers is a competition for the young people of Europe. It is an opportunity for them to explore their surroundings, identify the most interesting parts of their heritage and present them to the rest of the world. This competition should encourage young people to understand the concept of heritage and express their views.

Why?

The objectives of the Young European Heritage Makers Competition are:

1. To collect experiences and stories of how children and young people understand the European dimension of their local heritage. This can include tangible heritage such as monuments and buildings, features of the natural landscape, or intangible heritage shared by their community, such as dancing, singing or local cultural traditions. Creative interpretations are very much encouraged.
2. To identify and highlight the work of young people interested in heritage.
3. To bring future #HeritageMakers into the spotlight and connect them with their peers from other parts of Europe.

Who can participate?

Any group of young people or young individuals who live in the participating countries, who are under 18 years of age at the time of submission and who are interested in observing, exploring and participating in the environment and heritage that surrounds them.

Entries are open to two age categories – age 6-11 (born from 2011 to 2016), and age 11-17 (born from 2005 to 2010).

Only entries by groups are eligible to be selected for the prize. Individuals can submit their work, and it will be shared on the European Heritage Days (EHD) website, but the initiative ultimately intends to encourage the development of shared heritage communities.

Countries participating: Finland; Italy; Montenegro; North Macedonia; Slovenia; Spain.

How to participate?

The European Heritage Days invites Young European Heritage Makers to express their own vision of European Dimension, as well as which European values are recognised in their heritage sites.

The steps are simple:

• Step one: Organise an activity with a group of young people, in age categories: born from 2011 to 2016 and from 2005 to 2010, under the theme Young European Heritage Makers. The outcome of the activity should answer the question:  
  - What is your European heritage?    
• Step two: Present the outcome of the activity through either:
  - a video of up to 5 minutes or
  - a photo, painting, drawing, or other visual medium, accompanied by a description no longer than 800 words
• Step three: Upload your group’s work to the EHD dedicated page (form will be active from 15 August) with details about the participants. Once the national coordinator approves your work, it will be published on the EHD website.

Important Dates

• 15 August 2022 / 31 December 2022 – Organising activities and uploading entries
• January 2023 – Evaluation at national level, selection of two national winners (one per age category)
• February 2023 – Evaluation at European level
• March 2023 – Announcement of the winners, online ceremony to enable the winners to present their testimonies, exhibition in Strasbourg.

Link and Updates

European Commission

Guidelines for participation