An international project coordinated by the University of Lapland has been awarded €120,000 in Erasmus+ funding. The project aims to strengthen the preservation of European cultural heritage and to increase awareness of traditional professions and craft skills, particularly amongst young people.

The Re-evolution – Traditional Jobs – Heritage of Crafts and Culture project will produce digital learning materials over the next eighteen months, presenting traditional professions and craft traditions from four European countries: Finland, Poland, Greece, and Italy.

“Through this project, we aim to use digital learning solutions to raise awareness of cultural heritage and support the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and skills. At the same time, we are documenting traditional skills and working methods for future generations,” says the project coordinator, Professor of Textiles Heidi Pietarinen from the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland.

The Re-evolution project will develop multilingual learning materials, including expert interviews, educational videos, virtual exhibitions, and digital publications. The materials will showcase traditional professions and craft skills from four European countries: woodworking from Poland, beekeeping from Greece, winemaking from Italy, and textile art from Finland.

Freely available online, the materials are intended especially for adult education providers, as well as cultural heritage and other culture organizations and professionals, but they will also be accessible to anyone interested in the topic. The project aims to strengthen knowledge of cultural heritage and increase understanding of Europe’s shared cultural legacy.

The project brings together expertise from higher education, civil society organizations, and the business sector. The partners are the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland (Finland), Stowarzyszenie Euro-Lider (Poland), In-Action (Greece), and the innovation and R&D company Novareckon Srl (Italy). At the Faculty of Art and Design, the project is closely connected to research conducted in the BioARTech Laboratory, led by Professor Heidi Pietarinen, which examines the role of cultural heritage, materials, craft skills, and technology in building sustainable futures. The project further strengthens the laboratory’s international research agenda, in which traditional knowledge is viewed as a resource for innovation and learning.

Re-evolution – Traditional Jobs – Heritage of Crafts and Culture
  • The project promotes the preservation of European cultural heritage and increases awareness of traditional professions and craft skills, particularly among young people, through digital learning solutions.
  • The project is coordinated by the Faculty of Art and Design at the University of Lapland. Other partners include Stowarzyszenie Euro-Lider from Poland, In-Action from Greece, and Novareckon Srl from Italy.
  • The project is funded by the European Union Erasmus+ Programme. In Finland, the programme is administered and nationally funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education.
  • Total project funding is €120,000, of which the University of Lapland’s share is €40,000.
  • Project duration: 1 September 2026 – 29 February 2028
Further information:

Professor of Textiles Heidi Pietarinen
Project Coordinator
heidi.pietarinen@ulapland.fi