Whereas young people in rural Europe more and more young people find themselves in a socially and civic marginalized situation for various reasons, cultural rural heritage is increasingly recognized as a key feature of the identity of rural areas and as a source for local development. It may be a driver for civic engagement and personal development, a creator of wealth, business and jobs for all generations. However, it remains a huge, and still underused, source of grass-roots initiatives for young people.
YCARHe aimed to develop capacity building training tool for those working with young people and heritage in rural areas.
YCARHe seeked also to reinforce the quality and the innovation of non formal education for European rural young people, promoting the cooperation between youth organisations and rural heritage preservation organizations.
YCARHe proposed complementary activities to foster the involvement of young people in support of rural heritage.
Together with its partners, the MCE developed and tested with youth workers an European frame of reference for the training of youth leaders and rural heritage animators on non-formal education to heritage and citizenship : Promoting involvement of young people in the valorisation of local rural heritage.
The E-Learning platform, available in 6 languages, provided free and easy-to-access online resources including:
- a non-formal educational pathways on Youth and Rural heritage,
- a tool-kit providing around 35 individual or collective activities for young people.
This work was based on the work of 6 partners with complementary skill sets: a network of European youth organisations with associations promoting local development and heritage, from France, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy and Greece.
