“Cooltour” was a two-year, large-scale project aimed at finding ways to engage young people in both youth work and cultural activities through the lens of culture, while supporting the development of young people’s competencies of the future. The project included training sessions, study visits, hackathon, and youth exchange. It was targeted at youth workers and cultural workers to explore various ways to connect local culture with activities that involve young people and help them develop. Our goal was to demonstrate how heritage culture can serve as a valuable educational tool for all professionals working with young people. The project was being carried out in collaboration with partners from Türkiye, Italy, and Poland.

Another goal of the project was to develop a collection of tools and methods to support specialists in integrating simple cultural activities into their work to foster the development of young people’s future competencies. For this purpose, the Cooltour Roadmap and CoolTour Backpack was created. The roadmap is now available for download, and we encourage organizations, educators, and youth workers across Europe to implement these insights and methods in their work. A longer description of the product is at the end of the page.

The Roadmap itself is available here:

Online version: COOLTOUR Roadmap A Journey Through Culture to Build Future Competences

Offline version: COOLTOUR Roadmap A Journey Through Culture to Build Future Competencies

LET’S HAVE A JOURNEY TOGETHER!

In the first year, the focus was on research to understand young people’s cultural behavior within local communities. Interviews, questionnaires, and photo-storytelling provided insights into how young people perceive their communities and what culture means to them. Young people’s recommendations highlighted that national culture should feature more inclusive and interactive cultural events, and activities, giving space for providing youngsters’ ideas, happening in local societies and be more visible on social media.

As a result of the research phase, 386 young people between the ages of 11 and 26 were reached across the four partner countries to participate in interviews and questionnaires. 

Some results from the research include:

As a result of the research, various models were designed for young people by youth workers and cultural workers to find ways to better engage young people in cultural heritage.

Research is find by here: 

Short version: COOLTOUR-project-Cultural-Heritage_visual report

Long version: Conclusive report of COOLTOUR project_ Cultural HeritageAndYouth

The aim of the training sessions was to develop the competencies of youth workers and cultural workers to engage young people more effectively through national culture in their activities. As part of the project, two training sessions took place, one in Estonia and one in Poland.

The Estonian training took place in May 2023, where participants embarked on a journey to understand the cultural significance in their work with youth. The second part of the training focused on preparing research in their communities to understand young people’s perceptions and needs. Kerli Kõiv and Grethe Rõõm trained participants on the importance of quantitative and qualitative research methods and how to use them as tools in their work. This training provided the first momentum for the project to better understand how to involve young people in national culture activities and became the base for designing tools, methods and activities.

After the training, participants carried out prepared questionnaires, interviews, and photo competitions in their communities, which are further detailed in the research chapter.

In Poland, the training happening in December 2023, facilitated by Urszula Malińska-Mark and Aleksandra Szmurlik-Dominguez, centered on developing methods and tools grounded in research, utilizing creativity and Design Thinking methodology. The primary focus was to understand future competencies in VUCA reality and their relevance when creating cultural activities. Participants also explored their creative potential through a journey that broadened their understanding of creativity and their capacity to design activities based on specific needs. The methods and tools presented during the training served as inspiration for participants to create their own activities. 

Participants designed 8 different prototypes, such as:

• Energizer cards
• Cultural Heritage Café
• Workshop “Give Your Hand”
• Museum and Youth Collaboration Model
• Escape Room “Escape from the Future”
• Role Play “Dangerous Animals and Guardians in Bio Park”
• Generational Workshop “Connection Cards”
• Costume Party “Folks”

After the training, participants tested the prototypes with young people and gathered feedback, to create the final versions of solutions.

More details on the prototypes can be found in the English summary available here: Prototypes-from-TC2

In late April 2024, a Hackathon took place where young people, alongside youth workers and cultural workers, developed eight different solutions for enhancing future competencies. Over the course of three days, teams collaboratively explored a range of proposed ideas and worked together to “hack” them, seeking effective solutions.

Working in international groups provided a diverse perspective and approach. The ideas tackled included:

• Cultural Diversity and its significance in our culture;
• Gender-based Discrimination and inequality in cultural activities;
• Social Media’s Impact on reducing time for enjoying literature;
• Urbanization’s Effect on passing down cultural heritage;
• Modern Food not being suitable for current lifestyles;
• Lack of Digital Tools in cultural activities.

The Hackathon was led by Mai Timmi and Heleriin Jõesalu. The solutions developed during the event were tested across the partner countries following the Hackathon and iterated to the final versions, based on feedback collected.

More details on the prototypes can be found in the English summary available here: Hackathon

At the end of August 2024 (August 25–September 1), a youth exchange took place in Rõuge, where young people aged 16-30 from all partner countries came together with two supervisors. In total, 28 young people and 8 youth workers participated. During the first half of the youth exchange, the participants, facilitated by Indrek Maripuu focused on designing cultural tools. They were using brainstorming, creativity and hackathon elements, resulting in creation of four solutions.The developed outcomes were as follows:

• Podcast “Tomb Gossip”;
• Social media trend “Culturalrushh”;
• Festival;
• Instagram page sharing cultural tips, “Quartet of Cooltour.”

The detailed results will be available in the upcoming report.

The second half of the youth exchange focused on organizing a public event, where the young people created a program for the local community to introduce both: the Cooltour project, solutions created during Youth Exchange and their home countries. Together with the youth workers, the participants prepared performances and created a welcoming atmosphere for the event. The Cooltour Final Party featured performances by the Mõniste School Music Nest, Seto youth, the youth band “Kroks,” the band “Drift,” and the evening was hosted by Jalmar Vabarna. Throughout the evening, the young people were able to collects the feedback on solutions, share their cultural heritage, create beautiful memories and enjoy culture together.

More details on the prototypes can be found in the English summary available here: Youth exchange

The purpose of the study visits was to share experiences, stories, and ideas, and to learn together with participants and local experts. These activities provide an opportunity to experience different approaches to the cultural heritage, learn new methods, share the insights and concerns about the future and youth and cultural work, youth development, find new ways of working and potential ideas to transfer them to the local communities. 

In September 2023, the first study visit took place in Italy, where cultural and youth workers were introduced to the local culture and youth work practices more broadly. The participants had the opportunity to get to know local organizations, observe the activities of the Rome City Council, and explore Italian cultural heritage through the eyes of experts. One of the most memorable experiences for the participants was the street-level youth work opportunity ReBus, where culture and activities were brought as close as possible to the youth.

A summary of the Italy study visit can also be found in the report:

Short version: Summary of Italy SV_visual

Long version: Summary of Italy SV report

In April 2024, a study visit took place in Türkiye, where all partners had the opportunity to explore local culture and opportunities to develop youth competencies through culture. Participants learned about the impact of cultural heritage loss in the aftermath of earthquakes, as well as issues faced by immigrants. The study visit highlighted how cultural differences between partner countries influence our understanding and openness to various approaches and ideas.

A summary of the Türkiye study visit can be found in the report:

Short version: SV-Summary-Türkiye

Long version: SV Summary of Türkiye

In June 2024, a study visit took place in Poland, providing youth workers the opportunity to experience Polish culture and youth work firsthand. The entire program was designed by participants from the Cooltour project, who gave insights into their daily work and lives. The visit sparked new ideas on how to keep traditions alive in local organizations through simple activities. Participants explored the work of scouts, local youth dance groups, and much more. A detailed overview is available in the report.

Short version: Summary of Poland SV visual report

Long version: Summary of Poland SV report

The study visit in Poland marked the conclusion of all the study visits, providing valuable insights for all organizations involved. Summarized reports have been prepared for each of the study visits, offering a comprehensive overview of the experiences and outcomes.

Short version: Summary of Study visits visual

Long version: Summary of Study visits

On December 10th, 2024, we held the first concluding event online, where, together with the partners, we presented the journey of the Cooltour project to all participants. During the two-hour session, we introduced our nearly completec Cooltour Roadmap and the accompanying toolkit – CoolTour Backpack. Participants of the project shared their experiences and thoughts on what CoolTour had offered them throughout their journey. The event allowed attendees to see the entire project path, listen to participants’ voices, explore the tools developed during project and have a chance to win the CoolTour Backpack! 

The video of the event can be viewed here:

Participants had the possibility to take part in a quiz during an online event. You have the same opportunity!

The Cooltour Roadmap is a comprehensive guide designed to help youth workers, cultural professionals, and educators engage young people with cultural heritage in meaningful and innovative ways. Developed during the two-year Cooltour project, it brings together a range of tools, methods, and instructions that have proven effective in fostering youth competencies through culture. Roadmap is not only an online guide but there is a backpack that helps to bring tools to everywhere.

Over the course of the project, experts, youth workers, and young people collaborated across multiple countries, testing and refining these tools to address the diverse needs and interests of today’s youth. The Cooltour Roadmap offers a practical framework for integrating cultural heritage into youth work, with the goal of enhancing both cultural understanding and youth empowerment.

The Cooltour Roadmap is not only a valuable resource for those working directly with young people but also a tool for cultural institutions and youth organizations looking to enhance their outreach. By using the tools and methods outlined in the roadmap, educators and practitioners can make cultural heritage a living, dynamic part of youth development that equips young people with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

The roadmap is now available for download, and we encourage organizations, educators, and youth workers across Europe to implement these insights and methods in their own work. By doing so, they will contribute to a future where youth are more connected to their cultural roots, empowered to shape their future, and actively involved in building inclusive communities.

Cooltour Roadmap is available here:

Online version: COOLTOUR Roadmap A Journey Through Culture to Build Future Competencies

Offline version: COOLTOUR Roadmap A Journey Through Culture to Build Future Competencies

The project has been implemented in cooperation with the IKOS from Türkiye, Stowarzyszenie Miłośników Kultury Ludowej Folkier from Poland, and Soro Tori from Italy. The project “COOLTOUR-Cultural heritage as a source of future competencies in youth” is co-funded by European Union (Project number: KA220-YOU-F067AD92)