{"id":1418,"date":"2026-02-06T16:53:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T15:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/?p=1418"},"modified":"2026-02-10T10:03:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T09:03:18","slug":"10-dec-2025-policy-round-table","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/2026\/02\/06\/10-dec-2025-policy-round-table\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Dec 2025 : Policy Round Table"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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10 Dec 2025 : Policy Round Table<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Setting the scene<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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On 10 December 2025, the CRAFTOUR initiative<\/strong> held its first Policy Round Table<\/strong> at the European Commission<\/strong>, marking a key milestone in its efforts to place crafts firmly on the European policy agenda.<\/p>

Launched by Mad\u2019in Europe<\/strong>, CRAFTOUR brings together six EU-funded European projects<\/strong> working across crafts, heritage, research, education, innovation and sustainability. This closed, hybrid meeting brought together project representatives, European institutions and international organisations to open a focused dialogue on the future of the craft sector in Europe.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A collective voice for European crafts<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Policy Round Table gathered representatives from the European Commission<\/strong>, UNESCO<\/strong>, and the core CRAFTOUR projects. Contributions were led by project representatives including Madina Benvenuti<\/strong> (Mad\u2019in Europe \/ CRAEFT), Fabrizio Panozzo<\/strong> (Universit\u00e0 Ca\u2019 Foscari \/ HEPHAESTUS), Julie De Groot<\/strong> and Bert De Munck<\/strong> (University of Antwerp \/ Tracks4Crafts), and Riikka R\u00e4is\u00e4nen<\/strong> (University of Helsinki \/ Colours4Crafts).<\/p>

Together, they addressed a growing blind spot in European policy: the urgent need to fully recognise and revitalise crafts<\/strong> not only as a form of cultural heritage, but as a strategic economic sector and a dynamic ecosystem<\/strong> deeply connected to Europe\u2019s social, territorial and environmental priorities.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Four shared priorities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The discussions and policy recommendations presented during the Round Table converged around four key priorities<\/strong>, developed collectively across the CRAFTOUR initiative:<\/p>

  • strengthening statistical knowledge to better understand and document European crafts,<\/li>
  • safeguarding and promoting authenticity,<\/li>
  • supporting the transmission of skills and know-how through formal and non-formal education,<\/li>
  • reinforcing viable and sustainable business models for the craft sector.<\/li><\/ul>

    Rather than isolated proposals, these priorities reflect a shared analytical framework<\/strong> rooted in field research, lived professional realities and long-term collaboration between projects.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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    Crafts at the heart of European priorities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    The exchanges with representatives from DG EAC, DG MOVE, DG RTD, Creative Europe and UNESCO<\/strong> highlighted the transversal role of crafts across major EU policy areas, from the green transition and circular economy to education, innovation, tourism and regional development.<\/p>

    Participants stressed a growing paradox: craftsmanship, once central to European identity<\/strong>, embodies values that the European Union urgently needs today, circularity, low-waste production, repair culture, resilience, creativity and strong regional roots,<\/strong>\u00a0yet remains largely absent from key policy frameworks and strategic agendas.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    A first milestone in a broader trajectory<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    The Policy Round Table was conceived as the first milestone<\/strong> in a wider CRAFTOUR policy journey. The recommendations presented on 10 December now serve as a foundation for continued dialogue with institutions and stakeholders.<\/p>

    This work will be carried forward through two major upcoming events:<\/p>

    • the CRAFTOUR Scientific Conference<\/strong>, hosted by the University of Antwerp<\/strong> on 29 January 2026<\/strong>, and<\/p><\/li>

    • the CRAFTOUR General Conference<\/strong>, held at the European Parliament in Brussels<\/strong> on 30 January 2026<\/strong>.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>

      Together, these events aim to advance a shared vision and identify concrete policy pathways<\/strong> for the revitalisation of European crafts.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      10 Dec 2025 : Policy Round Table Setting the scene On 10 December 2025, the CRAFTOUR initiative held its first Policy Round Table at the European Commission, marking a key milestone in its efforts to place crafts firmly on the European policy agenda. Launched by Mad\u2019in Europe, CRAFTOUR brings together six EU-funded European projects working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1418"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1418\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1458,"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1418\/revisions\/1458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.madineurope.eu\/craftour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}