READ IT - Rural European Association Development Innovation Team
Active citizens in rural areas
INTRODUCTION
How to make villages worth living and (sometimes) working in
The project aims to help people in rural areas in the participating countries to work for the
development of rural areas as they are badly affected by urbanisation. As many people are
leaving those areas the ones who stay get less and less included in the overall growth in
society. Young people leave those areas and most of the inhabitants are middle aged and older
people. This development leads to a “bad circle” as the social inclusion between young and
old declines all the time.
There is also a lack of social inclusion in terms of less public service, closing of schools and
shops etc. With the project we like to enhance people in rural areas to help themselves to get a
better local development, to take initiative to entrepreneurship, local cultural activities and so
on to get people to stay in the area instead of moving to big cities.
The inhabitants of rural areas need even more creativity and civic engagement to keep them
socially included and the project will aim to give them new tools for that.
The project partners are:
• Europahaus Marienberg, Germany
• Europahuset Gävleborg, Sweden
• Learn for Life, the Netherlands
• Maison de l’Europe des Yvelines, France
• The House of Europe in Rhodes, Greece
• Polska Fundacja im. Roberta Schumana, Poland
Active citizens in rural areas
INTRODUCTION
How to make villages worth living and (sometimes) working in
The project aims to help people in rural areas in the participating countries to work for the
development of rural areas as they are badly affected by urbanisation. As many people are
leaving those areas the ones who stay get less and less included in the overall growth in
society. Young people leave those areas and most of the inhabitants are middle aged and older
people. This development leads to a “bad circle” as the social inclusion between young and
old declines all the time.
There is also a lack of social inclusion in terms of less public service, closing of schools and
shops etc. With the project we like to enhance people in rural areas to help themselves to get a
better local development, to take initiative to entrepreneurship, local cultural activities and so
on to get people to stay in the area instead of moving to big cities.
The inhabitants of rural areas need even more creativity and civic engagement to keep them
socially included and the project will aim to give them new tools for that.
The project partners are:
• Europahaus Marienberg, Germany
• Europahuset Gävleborg, Sweden
• Learn for Life, the Netherlands
• Maison de l’Europe des Yvelines, France
• The House of Europe in Rhodes, Greece
• Polska Fundacja im. Roberta Schumana, Poland
