I-ROOTS- Engagement & Entrepreneurship as drivers of innovation in rural areas
4th of October, finally the deadline to submit Erasmus+ Ka2 projects is closed and we feel ourselves more than satisfied. This time we hardly worked submitting I-ROOTS– Engagement & Entrepreneurship as drivers of innovation in rural areas. If our National Agency will like our project idea, we will play the role of coordinators in this KA2 Erasmus+ project (Strategic partnerships). This new project proposal was possible thanks to the collaboration of our three European partners from three different countries:
- Dramblys– Spain
- Stiching Caat Projects– Netherlands
- Fundacja “Zielony Slon”– Poland
But, what is the main topic of this project?
One of the consequences of structural changes in the economy and the impact of globalization is urbanization. As a result, rural regions are mostly facing a decline of population all over the Europe. In the countries represented by the project partners, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Poland in 2015 the 25.40% of inhabitants lived in remote rural areas (39.43% in PL, 31.45% in IT, 20.64% in ES and 10.09% NL).
Despite the negative development tendencies, a number of rural communities in Europe have been able to adjust their economy to the needs of 21st century. Arts, crafts, heritage, tourism and small scale production of niche products, as well as new sectors like e-commerce, electronic media, platforms and distant work have the potential to create new jobs in rural areas, using rural resources in a contemporary way.
In this perspective, the youth as the future innovators and leaders play a crucial role in the transformation of the rural economy. It is especially important to encourage young generations to keep living in the countryside, using its resource, building innovative way of work.
I-ROOTS– Engagement & Entrepreneurship as drivers of innovation in rural areas, was born to increase the quality of youth work by exchanging best practices, methods and ideas regarding the creation of innovative startups in rural areas – new businesses that are using the traditional intangible heritage of rural areas in a contemporary way by using modern ICT (e-commerce, e- platforms, applications, distant work etc.). This project will encourage youth to combine traditional rural businesses with modern technologies, thus facilitating the development of innovative, high value added products in areas that are struggling against the socio economic decline.
EprojectConsult is really satisfied with this new project, and we are fully confident that if it is approved we will do our best to encourage youth to start their own business in rural areas thus improving rural job creation, decreasing the youth unemployment and preserving the main features of living and working in rural areas.
Fingers crossed!!