Curae - Caring for the Continuation of Vintage Crafts

Through Curae we wanted to develop employability skills by contributing on the maintenance of national vintage crafts. Our idea was to create a European network with partners who are active in their community and activating this network with national crafts organisations by organising events which would motivate youngsters coming from fewer opportunities background to support their countries’ traditional preservation, more specifically, their communities. Youngsters would collaborate with the participating organisations in the development of an employability method by using vintage crafts as a mean for increasing and improving the employability in a way that crafts can be proven to have a place in the modern world and they can contribute to personal and professional development of a group or an organisation. By being exposed to each other's crafting cultures and by learning to include them as European heritages and not only national heritages, the value of active citizenship and of common values was one of the core elements being present in every process and stages of the project.

Curae aimed to achieve its objectives by developing and improving crafting skills in youngsters facing employability issues who are mainly situated in the countryside. Curae wanted to build a bridge between youngsters and the world of craftsmanship in Europe and to present them the benefits of it, and how it could help their communities develop, also economically. This project would bring different European organisations and communities together of different cultures and showing how it is possible to include crafts with technology while developing they entrepreneurial skills such as presenting themselves, promoting themselves and their heritage. With the learned skills, we expected youngsters to adopt a proactive posture towards employability and also consider investing in their community to support its economy. Action wise, this could happen with youngsters assisting local businesses on performing more effectively (therefore the youngsters could pass their skills onwards) but also with youngsters finding themselves employed in their region so that they can also see that where they live also has opportunities to offer work and cultural wise.

In order to achieve the needs and the project objectives we planned to address, we implemented 4 preparation meetings, 2 trainings, 3 study visits, 12 multiplier events and 1 youth exchange. All activities were spread equally amongst our partneIn order to achieve the needs and the project objectives we planned to address, we implemented 4 preparation meetings, 2 trainings, 3 study visits, 12 multiplier events and 1 youth exchange. All activities were spread equally amongst our partners and were discussed and agreed together while writing the project. Being the applicant organisation of Curae, Cherry International Foundation remained responsible for the management of the project and also took care that communication kept its flow which we believe is crucial when sharing tasks and responsibilities. For each activity, each partner selected the participants that they believed to fit the activity best, respecting the project criteria. The activities were planned in a linear way throughout the 36 months duration of the project in order to maintain a flow and establish an active posture from each party involved. Dates and length of each activity were agreed with the partners.rs and were discussed and agreed together while writing the project. Being the applicant organisation of Curae, Cherry International Foundation remained responsible for the management of the project and also took care that communication kept its flow which we believe is crucial when sharing tasks and responsibilities. For each activity, each partner selected the participants that they believed to fit the activity best, respecting the project criteria. The activities were planned in a linear way throughout the 36 months duration of the project in order to maintain a flow and establish an active posture from each party involved. Dates and length of each activity were agreed with the partners. All documentation related to this final report such as signature lists, timesheets, etc. can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11xix6YqS3vX18Y_8rzh175ttzE6YmrAE?usp=drive_link

Besides the different events which were organised with crafting organisations, a documentary was be made introducing each craft from each country. Not only, but the documentary also showed how crafts can be applied in team building activities, in this way, viewers can also understand how crafting and development can be brought together. Beyond the documentary, we developed a professional photography book, so the story of the crafts and the project can be pictured in a visual way that is not visual. The book also include a complete manual on how to become an artisan in modern days. A website was also created, where the documentary is displayed and the book can be read, accessible and downloadable to everybody. The blog is a platform for small tutorials, but also offering workshops in each partner country. In this way, tourists can experience the typical crafts of that country or area during their trip. The idea was also to link the website to already existing websites regarding the same theme to enhance visibility and strengthen the network amongst countries. In summary, the results are the following: - documentary – photography/manual book - DIY blog. Besides the project results, we also expected the youngsters involved in Curae and its activities to find job opportunities in their communities learning to give value to their cultural heritage. But also, which we saw happening during our project activities, is that they also support local businesses on improving their performance and being able to match with society and requirements in order to increase their visibility and raise more interest from people to their crafts.