Workshop 10:
Empowering Co-Creation: Integrating Youth in WWII Memorials and Museums

Idske Bakker, Annette Schautt

The Act!On Foundation leverages heritage and culture as catalysts for change, developing impactful, co-creative projects with young people. Across Europe, democracy, and the rule of law are under pressure; rather than “never again to war,” we face rising violence and polarization. Act!On believes cultural and heritage organizations, through shared stories, ideas, and artifacts, play a vital role in fostering peace and strengthening social cohesion.

In the past three years, we explored how heritage institutions can authentically co-create with young people to foster lasting engagement with cultural history. Our initiative, WWII Remembered with Youth, reimagined how institutions can connect with young people and shape cultural relevance for new generations. Building on this, our current European project, Space for New Generations, aims to actively involve young people in shaping heritage narratives through co-creation. The project fosters the development of new, inclusive stories that reflect the diverse perspectives of European youth, while enhancing critical thinking, media literacy, and democratic awareness. Participating heritage institutions are supported in modernizing their practices for sustainable youth engagement, ensuring long-term impact by embedding co-creation processes within the heritage sector.

Redefining Co-Creation with Youth: We present our framework, developed through co-creative sessions and youth hackathons, which empowers young people as co-developers. By giving youth control over project elements, we see greater engagement and commitment. This section explores how institutions can build radical trust and shared ownership.

Impact Measurement: Engaging youth in WWII remembrance through digital and interactive formats provides measurable outcomes in connection and knowledge retention. We’ll showcase metrics designed to evaluate impact, helping institutions assess how these co-created experiences influence cultural engagement for future generations.

Sector-Wide Transformation: We discuss structural and methodological shifts needed to enable authentic youth participation, fostering a culture of inclusivity in the heritage sector.
In the workshop, attendees will explore sample frameworks together, in a co-creative process, gaining insights into implementing co-creative practices.