The European Students’ Association for Cultural Heritage is a bit of a misnomer. It was initially started by students, but now is a volunteer-run youth network dedicated to advancing the voice of and opportunities for youth in cultural heritage across Europe, with members of the organisation being students and young professionals alike. But what exactly does such a mission statement mean? With members spread across the continent, ESACH’s reach is far, with a number of projects around Europe. Our projects are varied - read on to discover them.
The European Youth Heritage Ambassadors
This year, ESACH has its third cohort of European Youth Heritage Ambassadors (EYHAs). EYHAs, in partnership with Europa Nostra and The European Heritage Tribune, learn about heritage challenges in various countries, connect through online and in-person meetings, present their perspectives, and can represent their peers. The focus of the programme is to highlight diverse voices from different backgrounds and grow a strong European network of cultural heritage advocates. The growing #HeritageAmbassadors family already counts on more than 30 members all over Europe and beyond. Find out more.
ESACH Talks
What began in the pandemic as a way of boosting interconnectivity, ESACH Talks has now flourished into a quarterly discussion on a wide range of topics in partnership with other heritage bodies. With 2022 being the European Year of Youth, ESACH began its Talks series with a panel discussion from professionals in various youth-oriented heritage organisations. Following the same theme, the team joined forces with UNESCO for a discussion on illicit trafficking and youth involvement, and with the Europeana Initiative to discuss current debates around digital transformation. ESACH talks is now bringing on new members to the team from different backgrounds to launch more interesting discussions in 2023! Our first talk in partnership with Future for Religious Heritage took place last week, and more will be coming up!
ESACH Publications
Building on the experience of the ESACH Blog on the EHT (European Heritage Tribune), ESACH has developed its digital publication to further enhance opportunities for young writers in the heritage field. The ESACH Quarterly draws together content submissions from ESACH members about their involvement in heritage projects, pieces of research, new practical approaches to the sector, as well as news related from our various member groups. The ESACH Quarterly, whose third issue is currently being developed, showcases the perspectives of young people in heritage and how this formulates its thinking and doing.
ESACH Communications: website, newsletter and social media
ESACH’s main remit is to be the voice of youth and help youth promote their voice – that means sharing the projects and interests of young heritage professionals and enthusiasts, but also empowering young voices to amplify their own message through their desired platforms. ESACH does this through its social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Linkedin) under the handle @esach_spirit. ESACH’s website also has a section on opportunities and sends a monthly newsletter to share news about its activities, partner initiatives, and messages of interest to the #CulturalHeritage community. The newsletter is available to members and non-members alike, so feel free to subscribe!
Work 4 Culture
Work 4 Culture is a new initiative to help young people find jobs and opportunities in heritage. There is no centralised job board for heritage or cultural jobs and opportunities in Europe, with many jobs only shared by word of mouth. Work4Culture is an online Slack community where heritage professionals from around the world can network and share opportunities with each other. There are currently over 100 young professionals and job seekers on the platform, but we are actively trying to bring in employers onto the platform to create a more valuable space. Any heritage professionals are welcome, so come join us!
Looking into the future
After the success of the European Year of Youth 2022, our goal for 2023 is to make sure that the contributions of youth to culture and heritage are not washed away after this important celebration. For this, we count with the support of like-minded organisations who back us up in this task, such as Europa Nostra, The Future is Heritage, the Future for Religious Heritage and the Europeana Initiative, amongst others.
ESACH is a membership network with almost 700 members across Europe. We work hard to create quality content and opportunities for our members spread around the continent. If you are interested in joining, membership is free, and we invite you to reach out to us through www.esach.org to join our network and grow opportunities for youth involvement around you.