Young heritage artisans from four African countries have completed a week-long study visit across the Italian region of Umbria, exploring how traditional craftsmanship can sustain both cultural heritage and local livelihoods, ICCROM has reported. The visit, which ran from August 19 to 23, 2026, brought together craftspeople from Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Kenya and Tunisia for first-hand encounters with materials, workshops and heritage sites. The itinerary covered some of Umbria's most culturally rich towns: the historic center of Spoleto and its San Francesco Museum Complex, the Museum of Olive Culture in Trevi, centuries-old woodcarving and cabinet-making traditions in Gubbio, and the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, where chief restorer Sergio Fusetti walked the group through the conservation of the church's vaults and frescoes. The group also visited the historic Moretti-Caselli Stained Glass Studio and workshops in Perugia. The trip forms part of ICCROM's 'Transformative Craftsmanship ~ Transformative Africa' project — formally titled Towards Sustainable Development in Africa: Transformative Capacity Building to Advance Craftsmanship in Cultural Heritage Conservation — organized with the local implementing partner Be Human. Participants trained in mosaic-making, blacksmithing, marble work and stonemasonry, bricklaying, and plastering and decoration, with the aim of formalizing their talents and preparing them to share those skills in their home countries. The wider program is supported by Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, which back ICCROM's effort to turn craft knowledge into professional opportunity and durable development for participating countries. For the young artisans, the Umbria leg offered both technical grounding and a close look at how living craft traditions feed local economies.