The below article: "Cultural Heritage: Knowing about the past to better define the future" was written by Alzahraa Alhaddad of ITML, and published in the 'The Titan Chronicles', a publication by the Hellenic American University which celebrates Greek independence, womanhood and new beginnings, for their Hellenic Independence day issue.

The ‘25 by 25’ project aims to support and encourage young people aged 15 to 21 years old to increase their interaction with cultural activities and experiences.
 
The project is funded by the Erasmus+ programme under the Key Action 2 Youth call. 25 by 25 started on 30th September 2020 and will run for 30 months until March 2023. 
 
The project consortium involves 7 partner organisations from six countries:

• Aspire-igen Group, UK 
• CESIE, Italy
• Dramblys, Spain 
• FDCBPCS, Bulgaria 
• Hellenic Youth Participation, Greece
• ITML, Greece
• Youth Bridges Budapest, Hungary

 
The Project Objectives:

1. Increase accessibility to existing cultural heritage
2. Extend the involvement of excluded youths in cultural heritage initiatives
3. Instil a strong message of "25 by 25" amongst youths and youth workers

 
The project will develop a matrix of European cultural activities for youths to help them achieve the goal of learning and developing their skills and knowledge through 25 meaningful cultural experiences by the age of 25 years old. It will also develop a place-based cultural curriculum framework which will allow anyone to create a cultural learning module about their town or city.
 
The transnational dimension of the 25 by 25 project will be strengthened through the peer-learning and peer exchange element of the 25 by 25 Digital Platform. This will allow the beneficiaries to understand the different cultural manifestations of the wider European Union, through knowledge of the diverse range of shared European cultural heritage.
 
Target Beneficiaries:
Youths aged 15 to 21 years old
Vulnerable, NEET and migrant youths
 
Wider Stakeholders: 
Youth Workers
Youth Organisations
 
Project Outputs:

1. Handbook on Best Practices in Cultural Activity Engagement
2. Matrix of Cultural Activities across Europe
3. The 25 by 25 Handbook for Youths
4. Framework for a Place-Based Curriculum
5. 6 Place-Based Curriculums from each partners’ region:
   1. Bradford, UK
   2. Albacete, Spain
   3. Athens, Greece
   4. Budapest, Hungary
   5. Sofia, Bulgaria
   6. Palermo, Italy
6. The 25 by 25 Digital Platform, which will contain:
   • Repository for User created Place-Based Curriculums for Youth Workers
   • 25 by 25 Skills Portfolio for Youths

 
Aspire-igen’s role as project coordinator involves ensuring all activities and deliverables are completed on time and within budget, and reporting back to the funding agency. We are also responsible for managing a broad network of stakeholders in Bradford, the wider region and across Europe to ensure the transnational dimension is relevant within our local context.
 
The project concept was developed as an extension of an initiative started by the Bradford LCEP and aims to build on that, therefore despite being a European project, with transnational scope, retains strong links to local and regional stakeholders.
 
Additionally, the project strongly supports the Bradford 2025 City of Culture bid and aims to align itself with the initiatives being carried out under the umbrella of Bradford 2025. You can read more about Bradford 2025 here: www.bradford2025.co.uk.
 
As part of the project’s co-creation philosophy we are looking to engage with as many and as wide a range of stakeholders as possible, and welcome your interest, ideas and input on all aspects of the project.
 
The official project phases we invite you to participate in and contribute to are:
 
Piloting Phase 1: April, May and June 2021 - The project will pilot the Handbook on Best Practices in Cultural Activity Engagement with Youth Workers and Youth Organisations.
 
Piloting Phase 2: January to April 2022 - The project will pilot the Matrix of Cultural Activities, the associated ‘25 by 25 Handbook’ for Youths and the initial draft of the Framework for a Place-Based Curriculum with both youths, and youth workers/organisations.
 
Piloting Phase 3: September to December 2022 - The consortium will pilot the 6 place-based curriculums and the 25 by 25 digital platform, including the repository and skills portfolio with youths, and youth workers/organisations.
 
If you are interested in learning more about the project and its outputs or want to take part, please contact us.