Building Communities Around Crafts: The ARCH Newsletter - July 2025

Table of Contents

• Local Innovation: Zukunftshandwerker in Altmark, G …

• Youth-Led Vibrancy: Young Living Craft Activists ( …

• Global Connections: The ARCH Network Expands

Local Innovation: Zukunftshandwerker in Altmark, Germany

In the heart of Germany's Altmark region, often called the "Cradle of Prussia", the Zukunftshandwerker initiative by The ARCH, supported by local craftspeople and volunteers, is pioneering fresh approaches to crafts education and creativity. This ancient area, where Dutch and Flemish settlers in the 12th century made the land usable by building dikes, sets the stage for revival at the historic Rittergut Schönberg, first documented in 1378. Once a bustling center for traditional trades like brickmaking, wheelwrighting, and linen weaving, the estate has hosted influential figures over the centuries, including Baron Carl Hildebrand von Canstein, founder of the world's oldest Bible society; Wilhelm Dietrich von Bülow, a knight and chancellor of Prussia's highest chivalric order; and Konrad Schragmüller, a police commissioner with ties to World War I espionage lore. This rich legacy serves as both inspiration and a call to responsibility, especially in a very rural landscape today facing socio-economic challenges such as higher unemployment, lower wages, and limited infrastructure.

Building on successful local events, we will construct a dedicated workshop space starting in autumn. This marks the initial phase toward establishing a full crafts innovation hub, where young participants can immerse themselves in hands-on sessions exploring time-honoured techniques like woodworking, weaving, and pottery.

The facility will accommodate craft activities for up to 150 children each year, acting as an out-of-school learning site for nearby schools and kindergartens. Beyond that, it fosters intergenerational bonds as a communal gathering place, with elderly residents volunteering their wisdom and support to nurture creativity and cultural pride during the creation of a lasting venue. Envision youngsters moulding clay under open skies, mastering skills inherited across generations, it's far more than mere preservation; it's igniting passion in tomorrow's artisans amid a region ripe for revitalisation!

Stay tuned for progress reports, and if you're nearby, contact us to participate in forthcoming activities.

Youth-Led Vibrancy: Young Living Craft Activists (YLCA)

Image credits: Images provided by Aydan and Zarja.

Powered entirely by a passionate volunteer team, YLCA operates as a vibrant social media platform honouring cultural heritage globally. Via captivating posts, reels, and challenges, they link thousands of followers to ICH narratives, showing how traditions evolve and flourish in contemporary settings.

Here are two notable examples of their efforts:

• Meet Aydan: Holding Onto Culture Through Food (Posted 10th of June, 2025): In this motivating entry, Turkish Cypriot advocate Aydan recounts her diaspora experience, employing classic recipes such as sulu muhallebi to maintain memory and identity. The reel displays lively visuals of carob-season prep, earning 378 likes and 40 comments, igniting talks on food as a cultural link. It exemplifies how individual tales enhance worldwide heritage.

  Read more here: https://www.instagram.com/young.living.craft.activists/p/DKwFfKmsrRH/

• From Stone to Story: Meet Zarja (Posted 2nd of July, 2025): This inspiring post features Zarja, a 14-year-old student from Divača, Slovenia, who is actively preserving the ancient craft of dry stone walling in the Karst region. Through campaigns, marathons like KAMENTON, and performances such as "Nono's Wall," she and the Partnership for the Preservation and Popularisation of Karst Dry Stone Walling engage youth on both sides of the Slovenia-Italy border. The carousel includes Zarja's personal story, photos of children building walls, and emphasises keeping this Bronze Age technique alive to prevent it from fading into oblivion. It has garnered likes from activists and sparked discussions on transboundary heritage conservation. See more here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLmKNvUsGeE/?img_index=1]

YLCA's volunteer squad has boosted audience interaction significantly, demonstrating that enthusiasm and online expertise can rejuvenate crafts for emerging generations.

Follow @young.living.craft.activists for additional inspiration!

Global Connections: The ARCH Network Expands

The ARCH was born when four founding partners united to exchange ideas on preserving rare craft skills for future generations. Rather than forming isolated partnerships, they envisioned a vibrant exchange among organizations sharing a common purpose: safeguarding rare crafts through a global network of experts and specialists.

Today, this alliance of thinkers, creatives, craft authorities, and passionate volunteers spans more than 40 countries, driven by a shared conviction in craftsmanship's power to define identities, spark creativity, and enrich cultural heritage. We forge an international structure to strengthen rare crafts, partnering on documentation, renewal, and stimulating demand for threatened practices across Europe, Asia, Africa, and beyond.

This growth sparks cross-cultural dialogues, for instance, exchanging insights from the UK's Heritage Crafts Red List to initiatives like Slovenian dry stone walling preservation or Indian initiatives for children to actively participate in crafts. Beyond trends like integrating tech for heritage preservation or blending ancient methods with contemporary design, we craft practical frameworks for grassroots groups worldwide. A prime example: our ongoing development of the Craft Atlas, a tool to evaluate global craft statuses.

We also drive initiatives to boost awareness and value for these skills, such as leading academic research to answer the fundamental question of the value of crafts. Central to this is inspiring youth. We're thrilled to back the Young Living Craft Activists (YLCA) and their volunteer-powered online hub.

Members engage through targeted working groups. Tell us your ideas for unlocking this network's full potential, and how The ARCH can best serve you. This collaborative model highlights collective strength: together, we're not just defending crafts; we're molding them into enduring opportunities.

If your organization champions crafts, join us to extend your reach!

Share Your Community Updates: Get Involved!

We enjoy learning from our alliance! If your entity boasts thrilling developments, like a fresh seminar, youth project, or international collaboration, submit them for possible inclusion in upcoming issues. Forward narratives, images, and info to [email protected], or get in touch to discuss becoming a member.

Let's sustain the drive: Disseminate awareness, aid regional artisans, and contribute to a realm where rare crafts prosper. Anticipate further updates, and thanks for joining The ARCH adventure!

Connect with us:

Website: thearch.org

Instagram: @the_arch_org

LinkedIn: The ARCH

Image credits: Provided by The ARCH team and partners.