The YouInHerit project is co-financed by the European Fund for Regional Development, within the framework of the Interreg Central Europe program and lasts from June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2019. 12 partners from 5 European countries participate in the project. In addition to the Development Agency Sinergija, the Slovenian partners in the project are the Municipality of Beltinci, the Municipality of Piran and the Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum from Piran. The leading partner in the project is the municipality of Budafok from Hungary. Traditional, but still alive, crafts and professions represent a valuable part of Europe’s cultural heritage and identity. The deterioration of cultural heritage does not contribute to the cohesion of local communities, but reduces tourist attraction and has a negative impact on the economic development of the local environment. The revival of traditional crafts and products is therefore necessary due to the growing demand for traditional local products and services. The young generation stands out in this demand. This trend indicates the need to include creative thinking and innovative ideas in the evaluation of traditional cultural content. The project deals with the current issue related to the abandonment of traditional crafts, the lack of involvement and the interest of young people in the innovative continuation of traditional crafts as an employment opportunity. The partners highlight the lack of involvement of young people in the processes of revitalizing cultural heritage and the co-creation of innovative ideas for the successful activation of traditional crafts as a common problem. With the YouInHerit project, we want to achieve that young people recognize the potential and employment opportunities for themselves in the revival of cultural heritage and traditional crafts, and contribute to the development of the local environment in which they live with their ideas, suggestions and active involvement in project activities. In addition to the inclusion of young people, the YouInHerit project also addresses municipalities and other forms of local and regional authorities with the aim of improving their knowledge capacity through the training carried out within the project and, as a result, improving the management of preserved cultural heritage in Pomurje and other European regions involved.
Expected results of the YouInHerit project:
- 6 action plans on the evaluation of cultural heritage with the involvement of young people will be prepared. The action plans will be: (a) adopted at the regional level by the Regional Government of Mazovia (Poland) and the Region of Venice (Italy) and (b) adopted at the local level in Piran (Slovenia), Vodnjan (Croatia), Budafok (Hungary) and Beltinci (Slovenia);
- A transnational tool will be developed, which will include good practices in the field of cultural heritage with the involvement of youth;
- 3 types of Pilot measures will be implemented, namely:
Pilot measure 1: strengthening the capacity of cultural heritage management in local authorities (municipalities) and interested stakeholders;
Pilot measure 2: revival of old crafts in a comprehensive way;
Pilot measure 3: Development of skills for the continuation of old crafts, as an economic potential for young people; - Inclusion regions will test one of the 3 tools developed within the project. In each region, the tool will be tested by at least one institution, which is a total of 6;
- Training on action planning will be conducted for partners, representatives of regional steering groups and other stakeholders;
- Reconstruction of the olive peeling building in Vodnjan, Croatia;
- Installations for an innovative exhibition in the Piran Museum.