Rural European Association Development Innovation Team. READ IT – Active citizens in rural areas Erasmus Project

Project Title

Rural European Association Development Innovation Team. READ IT – Active citizens in rural areas

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Regional dimension and cooperation; Rural development and urbanisation

Project Summary

Since the 70s of the last century, the situation in many rural areas in Europe has changed dramatically . A process of accelerated decline took place: a severe decrease of inhabitants and facilities, weak infrastructure, changes in the agricultural sector, closing of shops and schools, young people leaving the areas, less employment, unoccupied houses and buildings, increased poverty, etc. Therefore it is urgent to increase the social viability and livability of small villages in the rural area. Together, young and old need to discuss the changing lifestyles and its consequences for new organizational structures. For this reason, project partners identified active citizenship and volunteering as a useful lever we have to strengthen and to rely on. It is important to know which learning wishes and needs active inhabitants have. This European project has worked in various to promote active citizenship in rural areas to compete the above mentioned deficiencies. Different European approaches have been revised and checked to enrich a strategy for rural areas all over Europe. Thus “social inclusion”, “Educators” and “Sustainable investment” are three crucial priorities that accompanied this strategic partnership over two years from September 2017 to September 2019. Six partners from Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Greece, Poland and Germany, representing all four points of the compass and new and older member states of the European Union got together to share, learn, work and create around the big and hot political topic of rural development. Local citizens and local communities have been empowered for a better future. The people involved in the project learned much from the exchange opportunities. Four transnational meetings and many local activities in the rural areas of the six participating countries have been realised. New voluntary structures to keep up the work for rural development have been established to grow a sustainable involvement that has resources to proceed the lifetime of this project. Many local institutions, organizations and local citizens could be involved in the project. We reached out to many players in our local communities and inspired people to get active in rural development. On the meta level the project had an online manual as concrete, visible and shareable output that will continue to grow with the work in the future. The manual gives concrete support for any activity in rural areas in seven steps plus is enriched with goοd-practice example from rural areas that function and can support others. The strategic partnership initiated a learning process in our rural areas and created a good pool of incentives to start more rural development work in others rural communities.The project was disseminated and promoted in various ways using a broad variety of online and offline tools. It was also possible next to concrete local citizens and rural organizations to include political decision-makers, political institutions and local authorities from our rural communities as well as politicians from the European level into the project and bring them in touch with rural areas in the context of the European dimension. A six-digit number of people got the chance to follow the project and get familiar with learning experiences and concrete results thanks to the multiple online and offline channels that were used within the partnership to go as broad to the public as possible. A core team of the partnership (steering committee) and satelliting local citizens made sure that transnational learning meetings as well as work in the local communities have been vivid and have been connected to the European dimension of the project. The project reached out and included many different local citizens and organization, from all age groups, including also many people who has fewer learning opportunities (e.g. language barriers, disabilities, social and financial obstacles). But all were united to the commitment of making their rural homes more vivid, sustainable, attractive and adorable. The transnational meetings brought concrete experiences and real rural projects into the partnership. That was really important to make the project true-to-life and not theoretical considerations. Thus, also the local citizens could be more included and had the terrific chance to Go European.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 91865 Eur

Project Coordinator

Europahaus Marienberg & Country: DE

Project Partners

• MAISON DE L’EUROPE DES YVELINES
• To Spiti tis Evropis sti Rodo
• Europahuset Gävleborg
• Learn for Life
• POLSKA FUNDACJA IM. ROBERTA SCHUMANA