YOUTH4HERITAGE – Rising voices from Naples

Empowering Youth Voices in the Future of Cultural Heritage

Inspired by the 2019 European Young Heritage Professionals Forum, this side event brought together participants from Italy and abroad, including both heritage professionals and civically engaged youth. Structured around four thematic working groups, the programme encouraged participants to examine key issues concerning the relationship between youth and cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible.

The discussions centered on four key themes:

• the transformative potential of digital technologies in heritage accessibility and innovation;
• the role of education, inclusivity, and intergenerational dialogue in heritage transmission;
• the impact of globalisation on cultural identity and heritage preservation;
• the integration of cultural heritage within sustainable development frameworks.

Each working group was structured as an “incubator of ideas”, enabling participants to co-create proposals that respond to real challenges and build on existing policies and practices. Drawing on personal and professional insights, participants developed context-sensitive, forward-looking recommendations on how youth can actively engage in heritage safeguarding and valorisation.

The event not only fostered international exchange and peer-learning but also laid the groundwork for a broader, ongoing process. By bridging generations and geographies, “YOUTH4HERITAGE – Rising Voices from Naples” reaffirmed the importance of placing young people at the center of cultural heritage strategies as active agents of preservation, innovation, and change.