INTERSPACE Project
Between July 2024 and June 2025, over 120 young people (aged 12–15 years) living across The Great Spa Towns of Europe took part in our INTERSPACE Project.
Funded by the European Union through the CERV Town Twinning Programme, the project gathered young people from across The Great Spa Towns of Europe to bring them into the management of the World Heritage Site.
The participants took part in online workshops and two major international exchanges, which ran alongside our general assemblies in Baden bei Wien (Austria) in Autumn 2024 and in Mariánské Lázně (Czechia) in Spring 2025. Here, they developed ideas about how to manage the spa towns they called home.
In the spirit of co-design, it gave the reins to the young people to shape a Youth Forum, a permanent part of our governance.
INTERSPACE also fostered understanding and appreciation of World Heritage. With two major international exchanges and ongoing online workshops, the young people discovered their shared spa culture through activities, tours and workshops.
The next generation are not just the current residents of The Great Spa Towns of Europe, but the future custodians.
Bringing young citizens into decision-making about the management of the towns they live in not only recognises the value of their ideas,
but shows them they have a voice that can be used to make a positive impact.
Empowering Young Citizens
INTERSPACE used a co-design methodology beyond traditional heritage education to create democratic engagement. The young people worked collaboratively in ten cross-cultural groups through four-stage co-design processes. From this, they developed six concrete calls-to-action which they presented directly to Mayors and heritage officials at The Great Spa Towns of Europe’s General Assembly meetings.
Their recommendations – ranging from revitalising abandoned buildings to establishing local youth parliaments – demonstrate civic maturity, environmental consciousness and European vision.
Most significantly, INTERSPACE established the permanent Youth Forum, ensuring young people now possess a permanent voice in the governance and strategic direction of this UNESCO World Heritage property.
The young people were not just passive learners, but active citizens.
They gained essential democratic participation skills, cross-cultural competencies and heritage stewardship knowledge.
The soft skills required for participating in workshops, presenting to political audiences and creating relationships with young people speaking in other languages are also beneficial to them outside INTERSPACE. As the permanent Youth Forum enables ongoing civic engagement, intergenerational dialogue and community benefit will be sustained alongside.
Changing Heritage Management
INTERSPACE transformed traditional heritage management by bringing young voices directly into high-level decision-making.
As a result of their workshops, the Youth Forum gave presentations at The Great Spa Towns of Europe’s General Assembly meetings, speaking directly to the Executive Board, Delegates, Members and other stakeholders and decision-makers. In Spring 2025, The Great Spa Towns of Europe Association pledged a set budget for implementing the changes suggested by the Youth Forum.
This unprecedented level of youth participation in World Heritage governance has been institutionally embedded within The Great Spa Towns of Europe’s governance structures and political commitment. INTERSPACE led to capacity building for heritage professionals and transformed the site managers’ approach to community engagement. It has also reiterated our shared commitment to preserving Europe’s spa culture for future generations.
Discovering European Spa History
With international trips, workshops and activities, INTERSPACE promoted an understanding of European spa history. The young people took part in guided tours to ancient springs, visited bathhouses, tried spa facilities, went on scavenger hunts, listened to orchestral concerts, researched ancient spa rituals, made memes about spa history, sampled mineral water from springs – and many more activities. With a wide range of activities, the project engaged them with their shared spa town history, culture and traditions.
In the same way spa culture has connected nations in the past, the young citizens worked in a manner that exemplifies European cooperation.
The project coincided with the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy – the EU anthem. Beethoven composed significant parts of this during his stay in Baden bei Wien, one of our participating towns, and host of the first youth exchange and autumn General Assembly.
As well as celebrating their shared heritage, instilling a sense of pride, INTERSPACE sparked their enthusiasm for custodianship, protecting irreplaceable cultural traditions.
Unity and Diversity Across Europe
INTERSPACE exemplifies European cooperation at its most meaningful level, using the shared heritage of the European spa phenomenon to forge connections between young citizens across six countries.
The young people discovered how their shared spa culture has historically transcended national boundaries, fostering cultural exchange and diplomatic relations – a tradition they now continue through their own cross-border collaboration.
As Europe faces the challenge of engaging young people with their shared heritage and democratic institutions,
INTERSPACE proves how historic spa towns can once again serve as spaces for building a shared European identity among future generations.
Online Preparation
Activities in Mariánské Lázně, Czechia
Social Media Engagement
Youth Forum Presentations
