Multifunctional Agriculture – Rural Education for Action Erasmus Project

Project Title

Multifunctional Agriculture – Rural Education for Action

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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Rural development and urbanisation; Recognition, transparency, certification

Project Summary

The Rural Education project contributes to achieving the objectives defined within the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2020 onwards. The European Commission has defined clear objectives for the CAP 9, which will be taken up and addressed within the project by strengthening the players in rural areas and by the innovative educational formate “RuralAcademy”. The three key policy objectives will be covered. Health, Food and antimicrobial resistance, as well as efficient soil management, are part of the educational content, as the teaching companies in which the educational content is taught have to practice socio-ecological agriculture. In addition, the project will help to make the switch to socio-ecological agriculture more lucrative for farms, even at the structural level. This is where the project comes in: To strengthen rural structures in a sustainable way and to disseminate this knowledge within the educational Content and to pass it on to a large number of people. By coupling with eco-tourism and communicating educational content as a second pillar, the project also leads to ensuring viable farm income among operators.
The central element of the project is the innovative educational Format of the “RuralAcademy”. The adult education centre is carried almost to rural areas, whereby the actors in rural areas act as visual participants themselves and pass on their knowledge and experience to interested parties. Linking it to tourist offers creates a pleasant and unique learning atmosphere. In addition, rural actors will be strengthened and encouraged to apply innovative and sustainable formats in order to be able to communicate elements of them as educational content. Many people also carry it to urban regions due to a lack of educational provision in the countryside. With the help of the Rural Education project, the potential of rural areas and its actors are now being used to attract those interested in learning to the countryside. The focus of the project, and thus as a central outcome, is therefore the development of a curriculum with the overtopic “living and acting sustainably.” The educational provision within the curriculum is diverse and divided into four broad topics: Eco-Tourism, socio-ecological agriculture, saving old knowledge and linking of urban and rural structures.

The educational format is aimed at two target groups. First of all, the operators of selected farms need to be trained thematically and at the intermediary level. It is also important to ensure that the structures of the farms meet the requirements of eco-tourism. Within the three trainings, rural actors are trained in the subject matter, the technical training and the structural requirements. If the quality is assured, practical educational offers are offered to those interested in learning at the rural area. Combined with theoretical content accessible online, the participants complete the various modules. The education courses are described and collected in Output 2 in a database that is open to the public. By linking with the already existing interactive online platform “Karte von morgen”, a larger target group is reached.
In order to develop a high-quality curriculum, it is constantly being further developed, expanded and reviewed during the project. The main purpose of the review is the three multiplier events where content from the curriculum is offered in order to evaluate the content together with stakeholders and representatives of the target groups. The content of Output 3, on the other hand, ensures a constant expansion of Content.
At the end of the project there is a high-quality curriculum, which is used by qualified persons to train those interested in learning on questions about sustainable life. Once the structures of offering and implementing this innovative educational format have been created, farms will also benefit beyond the end of the project. Similarly, the institutions involved will continue to benefit from the curriculum and experience gained, either taking over the curriculum themselves in practice or using content from it in further educational projects.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 291497 Eur

Project Coordinator

STARKMACHER EV & Country: DE

Project Partners

• KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
• Associazione “Veraterra”
• County Governor of Vestland
• UDRUGA ZA EKONOMIJU ZAJEDNISTVA