Youth
In recent years, Europa Nostra has strived to rejuvenate its network and activities, improve the intergenerational exchange and knowledge-transfer among heritage professionals and volunteers, and foster heritage engagement amongst the younger generations.
Young Members
Europa Nostra has offered and promoted individual free-of-charge membership for young people (18 to 33-years-old) since 2019. Over 500 young members from 53 countries throughout Europe and beyond have already joined our network.
Young Members are invited to take part in the main activities of Europa Nostra, namely attend and/or participate in our events, respond to consultations and engage with us via social media as well as submit their applications to join the Council of Europa Nostra and the Selection Committee of the Awards.
Our Young Members receive a bi-weekly email update listing all upcoming events, opportunities and activities.
European Heritage Youth Ambassadors
The European Heritage Youth Ambassadors (EHYA) programme aims to empower the youth of Europe by facilitating intergenerational exchanges, networking and capacity building. It was launched in January 2021 by Europa Nostra, the European Students’ Association for Cultural Heritage (ESACH) and the European Heritage Tribune.
Through the programme, the Ambassadors are provided with a platform to share their perspectives and be part of a vast European network. In return, they promote the activities of the partner organisations. The main tools used are social media posts, blog articles and interviews.
The Ambassadors are encouraged to take part in debates focusing on heritage and the future of Europe. They covered the closing conference of the ILUCIDARE project (Brussels, April 2022), contributed to the European Cultural Heritage Summit (Venice, September 2021) and organised a workshop on Cultural Heritage and the New European Bauhaus (Madrid, June 2021), among others. The Ambassadors are also involved in the Climate Heritage Network.
The 31 Ambassadors are based in and/or represent 21 countries in Europe and beyond, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
“My time as a European Heritage Youth Ambassador has been an incredible experience in so many different ways. The connections that I have made and so many new things that I have learned along the way are the most cherished memories I will take with me from this experience.” Hana Kohout (Croatia / United Kingdom)
Cultural Heritage on Erasmus
The Cultural Heritage on Erasmus pilot project seeks to make cultural heritage a greater part of the Erasmus experience, while promoting Erasmus mobility opportunities for heritage students. It was launched in June 2021 by Europa Nostra and the Erasmus Student Network (ESN).
The European Heritage Youth Ambassadors are collaborating with their respective ESN National Representatives to reach out and engage with past and current Erasmus students who have a genuine interest in cultural heritage as well as attracting new ones. The pilot phase encourages the organisation of cultural heritage activities at the local level and the exchanges beyond borders, ensuring the cooperation can be replicated beyond this initial phase.
🗣 Just wrapped up an inspiring participatory workshop on Heritage going Erasmus at @ESN_Int #EGMPortugal! Discussing 4 key themes for society:
💻 Heritage & Digital Transformation
♻️ Heritage & Sustainability
👥 Heritage & Inclusion
🙋 Heritage & Civil Participation #EYY2022 pic.twitter.com/MOpv2Bvtyw— Europa Nostra (@europanostra) April 9, 2022
Europa Nostra and ESN organised a joint session on “Heritage goes Erasmus: the role of cultural heritage in student mobilities” at the Erasmus Generation Meeting 2022 (Porto, April). Europa Nostra has been part of the ESN Awards Jury in the ‘Culture’ category since 2021.
