In Depth

During the youth exchange held between the 6th and 14th of October, Maghweb facilitators supported the implementation of an Erasmus+ project in the city of Palermo. The exchange, titled Folklore Futures, brought together 24 young participants from Greece, Spain, Italy, and the Czech Republic for a week of non-formal learning activities, discoveries, intercultural sharing, and case study analyses conducted within Palermo’s suburban neighborhoods and the rural areas of Sicily.

The project’s central theme was the enhancement of folkloric culture and cultural spaces in rural contexts, aiming to foster reflection on how traditions can become engines of social innovation, sustainable development, and community cohesion.

Throughout the week, participants took part in non-formal education sessions, group debates, experiential learning, and creative workshops. These workshops included the retelling and exploration of ancient Sicilian folk tales such as The Baroness of Carini, the myth of Colapesce, and the tales of Giufà. These stories were reinterpreted and narrated by the participants themselves through their own creative and narrative perspectives, connecting them to contemporary values and modern media languages.

During the activities, the concepts of folklore and local popular traditions were approached dynamically, with several moments of exchange focused on the meaning of community, cultural spaces, and what folklore represents today. Through non-formal learning methodologies, participants explored topics related to collective memory, territorial regeneration, and cultural entrepreneurship.

A particularly meaningful experience was the visit to Terrafranca, a community space in the Cruillas neighborhood reclaimed by local residents, where ancient practices of permaculture and bio-building are shared. The visit allowed participants to observe how collaboration and cultural exchange can give new life to lost practices and stimulate innovative forms of cultural expression. Inspired by this field visit, the group then worked on activities focused on reinterpreting Sicilian popular traditions from a regenerative perspective—aiming to preserve cultural heritage in harmony with sustainable tourism and new technologies.

Through the Living Roots and Enterprise and Community workshops, participants also learned how to transform cultural heritage into sustainable project ideas.

Another highlight was the excursion to the rural areas of the Palermo province, with a visit to a rural archaelogical site and a workshop with local entrepreneurs who work to preserve the histories, customs and environmental knowledges of the Palermo province’s natural patrimony.  This experience enabled direct contact with local traditions and the people who preserve them. Thanks to the mediation of the Vallone Wilderness Association, the group met local figures committed to keeping Sicilian cultural heritage alive through ancient agricultural techniques, nature-based cultural experiences, and the oral transmission of rediscovered stories shared by expert scholars.

The project concluded with a European workshop dedicated to EU policies and programs for rural development, followed by a final evaluation day during which participants reflected on their learning outcomes and received their Youthpass certificates.

Folklore Futures was carried out within the framework of Maghweb’s ExChange 2025 programme, supported by the Agenzia Italiana Gioventù and organised in collaboration with Youth.progress, Cinergies, and Pueblos Remoto