Cabinets of Curiosities
Empowering youth in shaping the European Cultural & Political landscape
CuriEUs Youth is a European project that invites young people to explore cultural heritage through curiosity, objects, and hands-on participation. Inspired by the idea of Cabinets of Curiosities, the project reimagines archives and collections as active spaces for discovery, dialogue, and creative thinking.
By working with objects from across Europe, young participants are encouraged to question how the past connects to today’s European values and policies. Through study visits, hackathons, and collaborative activities, CuriEUs Youth creates opportunities for youth to engage critically with heritage and take an active role in shaping Europe’s cultural future.
CuriEUs Youth creates a link between cultural heritage, youth participation, and contemporary European policies by using curiosity as a starting point for engagement. Rather than approaching policy through abstract concepts, the project invites young people to explore how European values are embedded in objects, collections, and shared cultural experiences.By connecting discovery with reflection, the project encourages youth to better understand the role of culture in shaping Europe today. This approach supports meaningful dialogue between generations, institutions, and young people, fostering awareness, critical thinking, and active participation in Europe’s cultural and civic life.
Where does the idea come from?
CuriEUs Youth is inspired by the historical Cabinets of Curiosities, early collections where objects from different places and disciplines were gathered to understand the world through observation, comparison, and curiosity. These cabinets were not only about preserving objects, but about creating connections between knowledge, culture, and discovery.
Building on this idea, the project reinterprets cabinets of curiosities for the present day, treating archives and collections as open systems rather than closed institutions. Objects become entry points to explore cultural identity, shared European histories, and the ways in which knowledge is constructed, questioned, and reimagined across time.
Where does the idea come from?
Young people are at the centre of all project activities. Through study visits, youth labs, and hackathons, participants actively work with objects, archives, and collections from across Europe, using curiosity and discovery as tools for learning and collaboration. These experiences encourage experimentation, discussion, and critical thinking in an international and European context.
By engaging with cultural heritage, young participants explore how objects and collections relate to contemporary European values and policies. Working together, they develop interpretations, creative outputs, and shared positions, contributing to e-booklets and a collective youth manifesto that reflects their perspectives on Europe’s cultural, social, and civic future.
