Experimenting with Young Adults’ Digital Engagement to Leverage Cultural Heritage as Catalyst for Sustainable Development Goals: The Open Atelier Digital Competition

The contribution aims at throwing light on the potential of an emerging digital practice – “digital creative competitions” – and in particular on its effectiveness in promoting innovative ways to foster audience engagement in the interpretation, dissemination, and use of cultural heritage within contemporary scenarios. These initiatives are based on the collection and awarding of original audiovisual and multimedia projects, aimed to promote educative interactions with cultural resources and formulate multiple perspectives and applications around them. This practice is observed here in the light of the experience carried out within Open Atelier, a project funded by the European Commission within the Creative Europe program. The Open Atelier Digital Competition was launched in 2024 to foster young creative talents in the development of innovative reinterpretations of the collections of four European house museums, based on their possible connection with the achievement of one or multiple tasks blueprinted by the Sustainable Development Goals at the core of United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. The evaluation of the outcomes of this experience provides evidence about the strategic role of digital audience engagement in generating impactful innovations in the cultural sector. By activating online co-creative forums through which young generations become the producers and narrators of new and resonant perspectives, this format allows to challenge institutionalized and traditional views of heritage, and contributes to rethink its role as a resource for contemporary scenarios.