Strengthening Rural Communities – A Youth Empowerment and Community Development Training Programme

A wide range of challenges exist for young people in Europe. Amongst the most pressuring challenges is the high unemployment rate for young people living in rural areas and small cities which leads to many young people leaving their home and emigrating to urban centres. As a result, rural communities face a significant brain drain and community development challenges as the young and active generation is bringing in their expertise and energy in their new homes.

Against this background, the project would like to explore a variety of approaches to community-based youth work as an instrument for youth empowerment and community development in rural areas in order to strengthen rural community development and counter the on-going brain drain.

Therefore, the training programme aims to strengthen the capacities of rural communities in generating employment opportunities for rural youth through civic engagement and community development.

Therefore, the programme aims to enhance the competences of youth workers and young community leaders to empower young people to take an active role in community development generating employment opportunities for rural youth in their places of origin.

OBJECTIVES of the project:
• To enhance the competences of youth workers and young community leaders to empower young people to take an active role in community development and generating employment opportunities for rural youth
• To develop an educational resource pack offering practical and easy-to-use methods and practices for direct youth empowerment work for community development
• To strengthen transnational partnerships and cooperation for educational opportunities for competence development of rural youth

THEMES addressed by the project:
• Principles and approaches of youth empowerment work
• Approaches to community development
• Youth work as an instrument for rural community development

In order to reach those objectives, the project is composed of one preparatory distant learning course, one residential training course and a follow-up phase during which the educational resource pack will be published and local initiatives in rural areas will be launched.

The project shall result in the following:
– Competence development of 24 youth workers and young community leaders in youth empowerment for youth-led community development
– Publication of an educational resource pack in form of an e-booklet on methods and practices for direct youth empowerment work for community development
– Triggering new local youth initiatives for rural community development in the participating countries

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