“Cultural Heritage and Identities of Europe’s Future” (CHIEF) is the title of the project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation grants, carried out by a consortium of ten universities, seven from the European Union (including UPF) and three from outside, from India, Georgia and Turkey.

The main aim of the CHIEF project, which began in May 2018 and is to last for three years, is to promote effective dialogue between different actors and stakeholders (youth, educators, civil society activists, community leaders and policy makers) to facilitate a future for Europe based on more inclusive notions of cultural heritage and identities.

The CHIEF project aims to facilitate a future for Europe based on more inclusive notions of cultural heritage and identities

Mariona Ferrer-Fons, professor with the Department of Political and Social Sciences at Pompeu Fabra University and a member of the Research Group on Youth, Society and Communication (JOVIS.com), is the principal investigator of the project at UPF and is accompanied by post-doctoral researchers Roger Soler and Marta Rovira.

The University is involved in the coordination of a cross-sectoral platform and a survey

UPF, which is to receive a grant of about 560,000 euros to carry out its research has an important role in the consortium: “The University is involved in coordinating two working packages: one, developing a survey that will be administered on some 2,000 students from thirty education centres in each country; and the other, establishing cross-sectoral platform consisting of youth organizations, experts and technicians or politicians in the areas of education, culture and youth”, says Mariona Ferrer-Fons.

Until now meetings have been held in Split (Croatia) and Riga (Latvia), and between November and December 2019, one will be held in Barcelona, at Pompeu Fabra University. Regarding the immediate future, Mariona Ferrer-Fons notes that “in mid-February we’re going to Berlin, where we will receive training by an NGO, Citizens for Europe, to boost the group that will be created on this platform with people from the institutions, the third sector, experts, youth organizations, etc.”.

An innovative project based on the production and transmission of cultural knowledge

Coordinated by Aston University (UK) and with a grant of approximately 4.6 million euros, CHIEF aims to help to understand young people’s cultural literacy and foster greater appreciation of cultural diversity. In this respect, it aspires to have a significant impact on policies and practices that facilitate intercultural dialogue in Europe.

The project aspires to have a significant impact on policies and practices that facilitate intercultural dialogue in Europe

The project, which will carry out research activities in nine countries within and without the EU, is innovative in its approach and in the understanding of the concept of young people’s cultural literacy. It will give priority to the production and transmission of cultural knowledge in formal and informal educational settings as well as in various informal human interactions. These informal interactions often tend to be overlooked, despite their strong influence on young people’s acquisition of European culture.

In addition to UPF and Aston University, the project also involves the Comenius University (Slovakia), the Institute of Social Sciences, Ivo Pilar (Croatia), the Caucasus Research Resource Centre (Georgia), the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), the Savitribai Phule Pune (India), the Daugavpils University (Latvia), the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (Turkey), and Culture Coventry (UK).

Several questions about culture and young people that CHIEF will help to answer

The central question the CHIEF project aims to address is how young people’s experiences and their understanding of the cultural heritage of Europe (in the context of different educational settings) affect their cultural identities and their ability to participate in society and culture.

Other questions for answering are how youth trends influence the skills and abilities of young people to understand and build their cultural references that allow them to participate (or not) in society and represent their cultural identities; or how young people communicate and how they experience culture among their peers and across several generations.