EUMysT is a youth-led festival dedicated to mystery storytelling. The project originates in Borgo a Mozzano and transforms heritage, legends, and creativity into a path of civic co-creation with Rafelbunyol. The action combines preparatory workshops, a three-day European festival, and a final phase of publication, dissemination, and reuse of results.
Countries:
Italy and Spain
Integrated
Phases
Months
of Project
Public Town
Twinning Event
EUMyst is a youth-led festival dedicated to "mystery storytelling": the idea is to use the "mystery" perspective as a catalyst for cultural attraction and civic co-creation.
In small and medium-sized European cities, youth participation in civic life remains uneven, cultural programming is often aimed at youth rather than done with them, and media/digital skills to critically interact with local heritage are fragmented. At the same time, place-based narratives (legends, archives, under-told stories) offer powerful entry points for connecting communities, attracting visitors, and stimulating dialogue on values. EUMyst – European Mystery Festival harnesses the universal appeal of the "mystery" genre to transform storytelling into civic co-creation. Piloted in Borgo a Mozzano (IT) and replicated in Spain, the project mobilizes residencies, workshops, and a 3-day festival to co-produce a participatory digital archive ("Archive of Shadows") and a QR-enabled "Mystery Map" of civic locations and clues, culminating in public showcases and a transnational twinning protocol.
Greater cultural and touristic appeal; growth in youth skills in storytelling, source checking, and project implementation; a lasting network between schools, libraries, and civil society actors; and a replicable European format enabled by the Archive of Shadows, the Mystery Map, and an open-access toolkit that transform mystery narratives into creative citizenship.
- Involves citizens — especially youth — in EU civic life through co-creation, deliberation, and public events rather than one-way consumption.
- Builds a cross-border civic space (IT–ES) that promotes dialogue, mutual understanding, and a tangible sense of belonging to the European Union.
- Promotes inclusion and equal participation, with targeted action toward underrepresented groups and full accessibility (barrier-free paths, subtitles, plain language materials).
- Strengthens media and information literacy, linking creative production (podcasts, comics, audiovisuals) to source checking and archival practice.
- Uses digital tools (open-license archive, QR mapping) to extend participation beyond the event and enable replication.
- Involves families, residents, and visitors, because community engagement and intergenerational exchange anchor the project's legacy and tourism impacts.
- Develops digital public goods (participatory archive, QR Mystery Map) to extend engagement beyond the festival.