DIGITAL OFFICE TERMINAL
FE+ST
Folklore, Ethnography + Stories Transformed
Welcome aboard FE+st, ICDET’s living festival of culture, connection, and creativity.
This is not just a stage — it’s a space where tradition meets transformation, and youth become the storytellers of Europe’s living heritage. Whether through dance, music, food, fashion, or storytelling, FE+st is where past and present perform together — loud, proud, and beautifully diverse.
Young people from all walks of life come together to rediscover their roots, challenge stereotypes, and co-create a shared future of culture without borders. At FE+st, you don’t just celebrate heritage — you embody it, remix it, and pass it on.
From a village square in Bulgaria to a digital stage shared across Europe, FE+st proves that culture is not static — it evolves, connects, and unites us.
Let’s weave the threads of old and new into something unforgettable.
Cultural Festivals & Exchanges
Where heritage comes to life, on stage and beyond.
These vibrant festivals and exchange programs are the heart of FE+st — immersive, high-energy experiences where youth from different countries come together to celebrate culture, perform tradition, and co-create new expressions of identity.
More than just spectators, young people become performers, hosts, storytellers, researchers, chefs, dancers, and designers. These festivals are real-time laboratories for cultural understanding, social inclusion, and cross-border friendship.
Heritage Fusion Projects
Creative labs where youth remix tradition with modern expression.
Includes:
-
Folklore-inspired fashion design
-
Culinary mashups
-
Digital folk tales
-
Live art inspired by heritage
Intercultural Dialogue Circles
Where cultural pride meets critical thinking, and stories become bridges.
Intercultural Dialogue Circles are intentional, facilitated spaces within FE+st where young people pause the performance and dive into the meaning behind it. These aren’t lectures or debates — they’re safe, creative spaces for open reflection, storytelling, and identity exploration, rooted in mutual respect.
They help youth connect on a deeper level: not just “what” culture looks like, but “how” it feels, “why” it matters, and “what” we do with it in today’s diverse world.
Ethnographic Research by Youth
Exploring the soul of culture through stories, symbols, and shared memory.
This FE+st component turns young people into youth ethnographers: curious observers, active listeners, and creative interpreters of cultural heritage.
They don’t just study culture — they live it, document it, and bring it to life through modern media and artistic forms.
Participants investigate traditions, rituals, values, and everyday practices, and then co-create exhibitions, performances, digital archives, or art installations based on their discoveries.
Living Traditions Labs
Not just tradition as it was — but tradition as it lives, evolves, and belongs to the next generation.
In these immersive and experimental labs, young people don’t just study or perform traditions — they explore how to make them relevant, sustainable, and part of their identity today.
Whether it’s baking bread the ancient way, reinventing wedding dances with modern steps, questioning gender roles in folklore, or digitising an oral story — Living Traditions Labs turn passive heritage into active dialogue.
Threads of Identity
A wearable storytelling lab where youth reimagine tradition through fashion.
What if you could wear your roots, express your values, and remix history into something new?
This section brings together traditional dress, embroidery, colours, and symbols from different cultures, and invites participants to deconstruct their meanings and co-create wearable expressions of identity. Whether it’s a modern hoodie with a Martenitsa-inspired stitch or a traditional scarf turned into a gender-neutral accessory, this is where culture walks the runway.
Voices of the Village
An intergenerational oral history lab turned into live or digital storytelling.
What if your grandmother’s lullaby, a market seller’s joke, or a village myth could live forever — through you?
This section connects youth with elders, craftspeople, and locals to collect stories, sayings, songs, and lived experiences — then transforms them into narratives, performances, podcasts, or visual diaries. The process is rooted in listening, respect, and the belief that “every person is a walking library.”
FE+st on Film
A behind-the-scenes youth documentary lab of culture in action.
Who says the most powerful cultural performances aren’t happening off stage?
This section equips young people with cameras and storytelling tools to document the FE+st experience through their eyes. From rehearsals and workshops to emotional reflections and interviews — youth become filmmakers, creating a multi-perspective narrative of how culture is felt and shared.
Cook & Connect Corners
Shared heritage through traditional cooking and culinary storytelling.
What if your grandma’s soup could be a bridge between countries?
Here, cooking becomes a medium of intercultural learning and love. Youth share recipes from their homes, cook them together with others, and tell the cultural stories behind the ingredients and rituals. Includes real meals, but also games, storytelling, and mindful discussion on food heritage and sustainability.
Story Remix Showcase
Where myths meet memes, and folk tales are transformed by youth.
What if you turned an ancient village legend into a TikTok series or a climate-change drama?
This section is about taking traditional stories — fairy tales, legends, origin myths — and reimagining them through modern formats. It’s where storytelling becomes activism, play, and performance. Great for theatre lovers, poets, animators, musicians, and meme-makers.