​Youth.Heritage.Europe. launches “Travel Light, Carry Heritage” summer engagement campaign

This summer, from July to September 2026, Youth.Heritage.Europe. is opening a wide call to young people across Europe to engage with heritage: photograph it, film it, write about it — and share it.

​Whether it is a Roman amphitheatre discovered during a journey, a grandmother’s village in the Carpathians, a medieval fishing harbour in the Azores, or a Sámi sacred site in the North, every story counts and every place matters.

The Travel Light, Carry Heritage campaign unfolds through a series of regional thematic strands, each celebrating a distinct facet of Europe’s extraordinary diversity of heritage and neighbouring countries in July, followed by Central and Eastern Europe in August, and Northern and Western Europe in September, the campaign becomes a journey across the full breadth of the European story, told through the voices of the people who are inheriting it.

Participants — young heritage professionals and students aged 18 to 35 — are invited to submit photographs, short videos, or written stories through their social media or via the dedicated submission form. The best entries, curated by Youth.Heritage.Europe., will be featured throughout the summer on the organisation’s social media channels and compiled in an Online Catalogue of Youth and Heritage, freely accessible to all.
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The campaign also carries a broader message. It encourages young people to look beyond Europe’s most visited landmarks and to explore the rural areas, smaller communities, and lesser-known sites that form the living fabric of European heritage. Slow tourism, sustainable travel, and mindful engagement with places are at the heart of the initiative. Participants are invited to share not only where they went, but also how they got there, what they learned, and who they met along the way.

The initiative is carried out by Youth.Heritage.Europe. as an affiliated partner of the EU-funded European Heritage Hub, a project that brings together heritage stakeholders and initiatives from across Europe . The campaign responds directly to the Hub’s priorities around youth empowerment, digital engagement, responsible tourism, and the green transition, demonstrating that access to heritage is not only a cultural right, but also a pathway towards more sustainable, connected, and civically engaged societies.

At the close of the campaign, the Online Catalogue will serve as a concrete, youth-generated resource contributing to the Hub’s wider reporting and knowledge-building work.

Taking part is simple. Capture your favourite heritage site — a photo, a short video, or a few lines about what makes it special to you — and share it on your social media channels with the campaign hashtags #YouthHeritageEurope #TravelLightCarryHeritage or submit it directly through our online form here. 

Our team at entry and select the most compelling stories to be featured across the campaign. Each month, we will shift the spotlight to a different region of Europe, so keep an eye on what corner of the continent we are exploring next. 

To make sure your content reaches us in due time, check the regional strands and dedicated months below: 

July, EU Neighbouring Countries: Türkiye, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Ukraine.
​* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. 

August, Central and Eastern Europe: Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Croatia, Greece, Cyprus.

September, Northern and Western Europe: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Norway, The Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland, Austria, Switzerland, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Finland, Monaco.
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Follow Youth.Heritage.Europe. and the European Heritage Hub on social media throughout the summer to discover hidden gems, forgotten landmarks, and living traditions from every corner of Europe — and to see whether your own story makes it into the spotlight.