Youth@Work - Rural development, inclusive growth and youth work

Trieste, Italy 27 - 31 March 2023

Agenzia Nazionale per i Giovani, the Erasmus+ National Agency of Italy, and the Erasmus+ National Agency of Finland, on behalf of the Youth@Work Partnership on Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship of Erasmus+ National Agencies and the Strategic Partnership for Inclusion is organising this seminar.

All over Europe, many villages and small cities are facing a strong depopulation and brain drain is an effect that many countries are experiencing. We believe that youth work can impact in the opposite direction, providing the young generation with opportunities for empowerment and for positively acting in their local communities to build sustainable actions that could lead to development and growth. There are many examples, and by organizing this Seminar, we want to bring some of them together. 

The seminar, organized by the Youth@Work Partnership and the Strategic Partnership for Inclusion, focuses on the core pillars on which the Partnership are based: youth work, entrepreneurship, employability and social inclusion, particularly on young people with fewer opportunities in rural area and in NEET condition. The seminar aims at sharing good examples on how to reduce the depopulation of rural areas, emphasizing the potential of local young citizens. Youth work and youth organizations play an important role in this process thanks to the work they do to equip young people with appropriate personal and professional competences. On the other hand, efficient interventions from the local authorities are fundamental to support and incentivize the fervid ideas coming from the youths. That’s why the seminar places itself as the first step of a series of actions in promoting cooperation among different stakeholders for reducing the depopulation of rural areas.

The seminar will be held in Trieste, Italy from 27 to 31 March 2023 (including arrival and departure days).

The objectives of the Seminar are:
● Promote cooperation among different stakeholders to activate actions for reducing the
depopulation of rural areas and valorize the potential of the local young citizens, and foster
active citizenship and youth participation as examples also to reduce the growth of young people in NEET condition. 

● Show that youth work can actually improve the competencies and skills of young people in
order to equip them with tools that contribute to the development of communities, thus
supporting recognition of youth work.
● Promoting the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps EU Programmes (2021 - 2027) as tools
supporting rural development and social inclusion
● Initiate the creation of a network of good practice in support of rural development initiated by
youths.

Participants are invited to bring good examples of success stories in the field of rural development led by youths, in which they have been involved or that they have got to know about. The participants will have the opportunity to be part of a European network that puts together good practices for rural development and reduction of depopulation.
The good practices of youth work’s impact on youth employability and entrepreneurship can be from all areas and priorities covered by Youth@Work (social entrepreneurship, sustainable development, green entrepreneurship, women’s economic entrepreneurship and economic empowerment, competence development, volunteering, solidarity, social inclusion, environmental awareness, eco-literacy, social innovation, mental health, and wellbeing, digital education and development).

YOUTH@WORK PARTNERSHIP
In 2018, a consortium of 11 Erasmus+ Youth/European Solidarity Corps National Agencies (NAs) and 5 SALTO-YOUTH Resource Centres created the Youth@Work Partnership on Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship, with the aim to better tackle youth employability and entrepreneurship by working collaboratively, based on a common strategy. or more information about Youth@Work, please visit our website -
www.youthatworkpartnership.org and social media channels.

Requested profile
● Youth workers from the Youth@Work community (Pool of Trainers; National and Regional
Consultative Groups; former participants in Youth@Work events)
● Youth work practitioners able to share best practices from their realities and communities or
from their NGOs.

● Representatives of (youth) organizations, local authorities of rural areas, private and public
entities working for local development, and representatives of the third sector other than
youth.
● Policymakers, researchers, and representatives of the business sector, witnesses of successful
stories as required by this call.