2025! A rich and exciting year for Mad’in Europe
Once again, our small team has taken on major challenges and laid new foundations to strengthen the place of craftsmanship in our society, together with you, and thanks to you.
Throughout 2025, your conrtribution shaped our actions. We worked to amplify the voices of artisans and heritage restorers at every level, while listening closely to the interests, needs, and ideas of our wider community. We firmly believe that the revitalisation of European craftsmanship and heritage restoration is only possible by bringing practitioners closer to society and society closer to practitioners.
With limited resources but a strong and lasting commitment to the crafts sector, and above all with your continued support, we have moved forward side by side. Our achievements are truly shared achievements, built with artisans, restorers, research centres, universities, associations, schools, technological partners, public actors, European institutions, and an engaged audience passionate about crafts and heritage. Together, we have gone far beyond what we could have achieved alone.
So what did we build together in 2025? And how can we go even further in 2026?
We informed you
To help you discover the magic and diversity of European crafts, our monthly newsletters shared stories of professionals from diverse backgrounds and regions. Whether working with textiles, wood, clay, metal, or glass, their unique skills reflect the richness, creativity, and living heritage of European craftsmanship, while also shedding light on the challenges artisans face. Each edition, united around a different theme, revealed how deeply crafts are woven into our daily lives.
Revisit our 2025 newsletters HERE
Through this growing dialogue, we welcomed new members
From felt makers and wood workers in the mountains of rural Georgia to restorers in the heart of Paris, weavers in a remote Scottish archipelago, and traditional building teachers in Greece, we welcomed a wide array of new professionals, associations, and schools, into our community, showcasing the immense diversity of skills within the heritage sector.
And we highlighted the urgency of skills and know-how transmission
Craft, restoration, and heritage professions remain undervalued, with limited awareness of training pathways and career opportunities. Too often, hands-on careers are overlooked, despite being dynamic, innovative, and a strategic economic asset for Europe, putting the future of these professions at risk.
Through our EU-funded projects, we actively address this challenge of strengthening skills transmission and increasing participation, especially among young people, through both formal and non-formal learning.
Together, these initiatives help ensure that Europe’s craft knowledge and skills is not only preserved, but passed on, strengthened, and reimagined for generations to come.
BRICKS recognises that many craft skills are learned in workshops yet remain outside formal certification. The project promotes and empowers non-formal learning, also based on the strong willingness of craftspeople to share and transmit their knowledge and skills in diverse and accessible ways.
Reskilling Crafts responds to the need for upskilling and reskilling by revitalising traditional crafts through modern pathways. It equips artisans with digital, green, and entrepreneurial skills fit for today’s world. Stay tuned, exciting developments are coming soon!
MINDCRAFTS showcases how traditional building crafts offer strong and sustainable career prospects. By reconnecting young people with artisans through hands-on experiences, the project highlights exciting futures in the sector.
We engaged in dialogue with society and key stakeholders
The crafts and heritage sectors are not standalone actors. Building on our EU-funded Horizon Europe project CRAEFT, we opened this dialogue to a wider audience through the Craeft Community, a shared space bringing together artisans, researchers, policymakers, educators, economists, AI specialists, and you: readers, enthusiasts, and anyone passionate about or connected to crafts.The Community invites everyone to exchange ideas, share experiences, and actively contribute to shaping the future of craftsmanship in Europe.
Inside, you’ll discover fresh perspectives, join meaningful conversations, and even listen to our podcast.
We brought the voice of artisans to the European level with CRAFTOUR
Picture : Craftour at Bornholm Hephaestus Symposium – June 2025
The voices and concerns of artisans and heritage professionals are too often overlooked. That’s why we have placed them at the heart of European policy discussions and networks where decisions are made. One voice alone may struggle to be heard, but together, many voices can spark real change.
One year after the launch of the CRAFTOUR Initiative, on 10 December 2025, Mad’in Europe and its CRAFTOUR partners presented policy recommendations for the revitalisation of the crafts sector to representatives of the European Commission, Creative Europe, and UNESCO. These recommendations highlighted the sector’s strategic importance for EU priorities and the urgent need for a coherent support framework.
Dialogue with European institutions will continue in 2026. On 29–30 January, CRAFTOUR will host two conferences dedicated to amplifying craftspeople’s voices:
- The scientific conference at the University of Antwerp, will explore the future of European craftsmanship.
- The general CRAFTOUR conference at the European Parliament, will bring together key cultural and institutional actors to advocate for stronger recognition and support for crafts at the EU level.
Both conferences are open to the public, with limited places available. Register here.
Happy Holidays from the Mad’in Europe family. See you next year!
