ROOT Project

The European Youth Initiative

Cultivating Tomorrow’s Heritage Keepers

Empowering young people and youth professionals to rediscover, protect and reimagine their local and rural heritage, while strengthening resilience, eco-responsible practices and civic engagement.

At ROOT, we believe that local heritage – its stories, traditional crafts, sustainable materials, and community practices – is a powerful foundation for building more resilient futures. Our vision is of young people who can read their territory with new eyes, recognise the value of eco-responsible craft traditions, and become active contributors to the green transition. Through inclusive methodologies, co-creation, training, and intergenerational dialogue, we cultivate a European community committed to caring for its environment, strengthening civic participation, and unleashing the transformative power of shared cultural heritage.

About The ROOT Project

The ROOT Project is a European initiative dedicated to empowering young people—especially those living in rural or remote areas—through the rediscovery, protection and re-imagination of local heritage and sustainable craft traditions.

Our mission is to equip youth and youth professionals with inclusive, non-formal educational tools, fostering resilience, eco-responsible practices, and civic engagement within their communities. By combining interdisciplinary research, hands-on workshops and co-creation processes, ROOT creates accessible resources that highlight the value of cultural heritage in today’s ecological transition.

All materials and project outcomes will be freely available in English, French, Italian and Finnish, ensuring broad accessibility across Europe.

Learn More About Our Mission →

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Innovation in Education

Designing inclusive, non-formal learning tools that connect cultural heritage, sustainable crafts and youth resilience, shaping modern pathways for ecological and civic education.

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Wide Outreach

Sharing project results across Europe through multilingual resources, open-access platforms and collaborations with schools, cultural institutions and youth centres.

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Community Empowerment

Strengthening young people’s sense of belonging and agency by fostering intergenerational dialogue, gender equality, eco-responsible thinking and community-based heritage mediation.

Our Key Results

In development

Phase 1: Young people’s perspective

📄 Consultation Toolkit
To understand young people’s needs around heritage, crafts and the ecological transition.
🛠️ Solution Tool
A participatory framework for collective action.
📊 Outcomes of the Workshop

We conducted workshops in three European countries – France, Italy and Finland – with the aim of understanding young people's concerns about the health of our planet and their future employment, with a focus on gender equality and so-called “green” jobs.

This document brings together the results and opinions obtained.

In development

Phase 2: Interviews with professionals

A full training method for heritage and ecological mediation (20-page PDF in 4 languages).
18 thematic one-page learning sheets or one combined training guide (4 languages).
Three educational videos (3–5 minutes each) introducing key concepts, skills and practices.

In development

Phase 3: Outreach & Resources

A Resource Box on local heritage and sustainable crafts, including 21 one-page activity cards.
Additional thematic materials supporting youth workers and cultural institutions.
3–4 podcasts (1–2 minutes each, in partner languages) featuring voices from heritage specialists, artisans and young participants.