The Local Springs of Global Change Erasmus Project

Project Title

The Local Springs of Global Change

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; Rural development and urbanisation; Social entrepreneurship / social innovation

Project Summary

Our project “Local Springs of Global Change” is an innovative, creative and dynamic transnational youth initiative of two informal groups of young people – the group “ZC” of association Društvo Zelena centrala, Slovenia, and the group Terra of association Terraepaglia Plus from Italy. The initiative is the response to the perceived needs of our local communities (rural areas in north-eastern Slovenia and central Italy), among others: a high youth unemployment rate and precarious first jobs for young people, brain drain, social deprivation and exclusion, health problems and increasing social inequality among young people. A special attention is given to young people from the peasant environment.
The key context of our project is the growing crisis of small European family farms and the (un)sustainable development of European rural areas in relation to global climate change. We are actively addressing the urgency of action according to IPCC report Global Warming 1.5°C. We want to use environmental challenges as an opportunity to empower young people in European rural areas and create new jobs.
The initiative aims to actively involve at least 40 young people up to 30 years of age, especially those with fewer opportunities due to health, social, economic and geographical obstacles, and empower them through innovative activities of non-formal education of social entrepreneurship in frames of sustainable development of rural areas, agro-ecology, protection of local natural sources of drinking water, clean groundwater and efficient rainwater utilization. We will carry out two mixed mobility activities for young people in the form of 10-day theoretical and practical workshops at the organic farm in Umbria (September 2019) and the organic farm in Slovenske gorice (July 2019).
We want to provide young people from the rural environments of Slovenia and Italy, regardless of their education, social or economic status, a supportive environment for the development of their innovative ideas, and find alternative ways for them to work within family farms in a way that does not only solve the (local) social and economic concerns of young people and their families in the peasant environment, but does also address the (global) issues of functional ecosystems and effective prevention of climate change.
Other objectives of the project are: sustainable management of all local (re)sources (natural and non); understanding of the relationships between “local” and “global” (management of local resources is the source of positive or negative global change); improving the situation of European family farms, raising awareness of the importance of family farms, combating climate change, taking action according to the report Global Warming 1.5°C.
The project aims to launch a comprehensive campaign to actively network and raise awareness of the importance of empowered young people for sustainable rural development, the importance of sustainable rural development to combat climate change, and the need for immediate action against global warming. In the frames of the awareness-raising campaign, we will shape a short protocol in the shape of instructions entitled “Youth work and Global Warming 1.5°C – simple measures by which youth projects can contribute to combat global warming”. During winter holiday the protocol will be distributed to other youth organizations in Slovenia, Italy and Europe and to the general public as a “Christmas Gift for the Future”.
In cooperation with associated partners, we will also organize an international photo competition of reportage photography “Local springs of global change”, which will capture young people from the rural (peasant) areas and their contribution to general (local and global) well-being.
The project will be concluded with a two-day festival at the organic farm in Slovenia and a photo exhibition in Slovenia and Italy under the slogan “Be the spring of positive global change!”

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 39030 Eur

Project Coordinator

Drustvo Zelena centrala & Country: SI

Project Partners

• Terraepaglia Plus Associazione di Promozione Sociale