An article by Sigrun Myrvang, Vice-President of the Youth Regional Network
From the 11th to the 17th of April 2024, seven YRN members attended the Rural Youth Camp organised by the European Youth Card Association (EYCA) in Cazorla, Andalusia, Spain!
In the light of the unique challenges faced by rural youth, the EYCA Youth Panel has launched the Rural Youth Project. A project with the purpose of producing a roadmap on how to better engage with rural youth an their challenges and opportunities.
After a phase of information gathering, and a phase of awareness raising and idea generating, the EYCA Rural Youth Camp in Cazorla was held as means of defining the roadmap.
The event brought together 50 young people from rural areas across Europe. The experience allowed us to exchange practices and experiences on rural initiatives taking place in other regions, to better understand how to energise our community and create connections between the many young rural people in Europe.
It has been an incredible opportunity allowing us to develop new friendships, expand our network and broaden our knowledge and skills when it comes to the reality of rural youth!
Activities have ranged from workshops, presentations, creating art to dancing, hiking, kayaking, shooting with bow and arrowing, cultural night and much more!
We have worked with a variery of interesting topics such as employment, education, cultural and volunteering activities, youth work, public transport, health care and intergenerational dialouge.
Not only has the camp brought much value as a capacity-building and networking event, but it will also have a greater European impact as the challenges and opportunities we have discussed throughout the camp will, through the roadmap, be presented to local authorities and organisations to improve the lives of young rural people across Europe!
A special thanks to the EYCA board for such a wonderfully organised and facilitated camp!
