CAFE

Redefining Café Houses as unique European Cultural Heritage (CAFE) revitalises the legacy of European café houses, historically hubs of intellectual exchange, social cohesion, and cultural innovation. From the Enlightenment to the early 20th century, café houses nurtured dialogue among artists, philosophers, and citizens, shaping many of today’s European values. The project reimagines cafés as contemporary cultural and community spaces that can counter the fragmenting effects of social media, offering instead inclusive, participatory environments for debate, creation, and social engagement. Through research, training, and transnational artistic exchange, CAFE develops a network and code of conduct for café houses as intangible cultural heritage. Activities include ethnographic research, live exchanges, a training programme for cultural organisers, pilot cultural activities in cafés, and a final conference. By doing so, the project strengthens the role of café houses as conduits between the cultural sector and society, fostering new forms of artistic mobility and engagement across Europe.