Co-Designing Heritage Futures: Teenagers and Traditional Crafts in Madeira Island

This study explores how teenagers from Madeira Island perceive traditional crafts and envision their future through digital communication. Addressing the limited research on youth participation in safeguarding crafts, it applies a co-design approach to capture creative and critical perspectives from younger generations. Sixty students aged 17–20 participated in structured 90 min workshops conducted in classroom settings. Working in small groups with colour-coded worksheets, participants brainstormed, conceptualised, and sketched ideas for preserving and promoting Madeiran crafts such as embroidery and wickerwork. Thematic analysis revealed that teenagers link heritage strongly to identity and belonging but often merge formal traditions with popular culture. Their proposals relied heavily on gamification, social media, and storytelling, suggesting that digital environments are viewed as essential bridges between tradition and youth culture. While findings cannot be generalised due to the small and context-specific sample, they offer transferable insights into how co-design can engage young people as active agents in intangible heritage communication. The study underscores the need for participatory spaces where youth co-create cultural futures, providing practical implications for educators, designers, and heritage professionals.