This chapter presents approaches for supporting the collaborative participation of young people in cultural heritage research contexts. In seeking to amplify youth voices in cultural heritage debates, these approaches are informed by the principles of design-led innovation and studio-based pedagogy. The authors compare two examples of studio-based collaboration ‘in action’: the first explores craft practices with young artisans in Rawang, Selangor (northwest of Kuala Lumpur), with a focus on the precarity of craft practices in Malaysia; the second investigates connections to heritage with young people living in the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland, set against a backdrop of increased youth migration from island communities (HIE 2028). Whilst diverse in context, resonating themes across, scale, cultures and geographies emerged, which include connections to cultural assets and the tensions surrounding the commodification of cultural heritage. For young people engaging in craft education in Malaysia, the approach supported co-creation through the exploration of vernacular materials. For young people living in the Northern and Western Isles, this led to insights emerging from their lived experiences and perspectives on leaving and returning to their communities. In both cases, the authors evidence the contribution of design-led approaches for fostering creative spaces for the collaborative participation of young people to engage in and enrich cultural heritage dialogue and debates.

• https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003222804