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.

Mentors needed!

The role of mentors is to guide Young European #HeritageMakers through the exploration process. Mentors are professionals involved in overseeing groups of children and young people, in youth organisations or schools and colleges. They can be also found in associations or organisations whose field of expertise is heritage or education (for example, museum or library education and outreach teams), and are involved with children and young people in their work. This might be youth organisations (such as Scouts), or local community groups, and will vary depending on where you live.

The role of a mentor is to identify groups of children interested in heritage, introduce them to their surrounding local heritage and make sure the activity is practised in line with the Council of Europe child safeguarding policy .The Council of Europe “Listen – Act – Change Council of Europe Handbook on children’s participation for professionals working for and with children”, as well as The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee | European Commission (europa.eu) should be consulted before and during the  delivery of the activities.

Please note that mentors, both individual mentors and organisations, should be trustable and formally approved to work with children and young people in your country. Read the Council of Europe data protection policy. 

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, and age 11-17.

We invite entries to the Young European Heritage Makers competition from the participating countries: Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine. If your country is not on the list - and you really would like to participate – write to us at jep-ehd@coe.int and we will put you in touch with your National Coordinator.

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

HOW TO PARTICIPATE?

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

The steps are simple:

Step one: Organise an activity with a group of young people, in age categories 6-11 or 11-17, 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 with details about the participants (name of the group/school/class, names of participants and mentors, group’s age range, and location). Once the national coordinator approves your work, it will be published on the EHD website. 

Questions to help you during the exploration process:

• What does heritage mean to you?
• What do you know about European heritage?
• What story of Europe can you see in the heritage around you?
• What is the most interesting feature of your local heritage and is it unique to your cultural environment or shared with other countries?
• How do you present the story in pictures and words?

Try guiding children towards the exploration of heritage rather than telling them what heritage is and what it is not. Always keep in mind that the aim of activity is to understand children’s perception of heritage.

Mentors  are responsible for ensuring the activity is practised in line with the Council for Europe child safeguarding policy .The “Listen – Act – Change Council of Europe Handbook on children’s participation for professionals working for and with children” should be consulted before and during the  delivery of the activities, as it provides  guidance on how to implement it in a safe, ethical and inclusive manner. The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee | European Commission (europa.eu) is also an important document to be consulted as is stipulates that every child in Europe and across the world should enjoy the same rights and be able to live free of discrimination, recrimination or intimidation of any kind.

2021 Theme

The 2021 pan-European theme adopted by the European Heritage Days is “Heritage: All Inclusive.”. Young European Heritage Makers are invited to search for the story of Europe in tangible, intangible, natural and/or digital heritage related to this shared celebration.

Examples of activities:

Hold community events, workshops or discussion groups which will enable young people to exchange knowledge and ideas, or organise quests, treasure hunts or visits to sites of importance to local heritage – such as museums, monuments, libraries, archives, tourist sites, archaeological sites or historical buildings.

Motivate children to explore their family heritage by talking to older generations, and give them an opportunity to learn new things about their community and the place they live. Find out how people used to live, how they used to dress, what they did in their leisure time, and what jobs they used to do. Are there any special stories, historical events or traditions unique to your town or region?  Did anyone come to live in your town from another European country?  What unique traditions did they bring with them?

Find inspiration for your activities in our 101 Event Ideas brochure.

IMPORTANT DATES!

1 September 2021 – 10 November 2021 - Organising activities at the National level and selecting two national representatives (one per category). The dates can vary for each participating country. Please check the dates for your country: 

Finland

Iceland

Latvia

Montenegro

North Macedonia

Russian Federation

Slovenia

Spain

Ukraine

12 November – 26 November 2021 – Evaluation at the European level. 

Evaluation criteria

The stories will then be evaluated by the European panel of judges against the following criteria that should also be used for the evaluation on the national level:

• Originality and creativity;
• How well the story addresses the following questions:
• What does heritage mean to you?
• What do you know about European heritage?
• What story of Europe can you see in the heritage around you?
• What is the most interesting feature of your local heritage and is it unique to your cultural environment or shared with other countries?
• How do you present the story in pictures and words?

3 December 2021 – Drum rolls! And the winners are...

9 December 2021 – Online ceremony for the winners to present their testimonies.