Lucas, 14, an intern on the Tide! project, shares his vision of rural youth engaged in European projects. Source – LinkedIn
In the world, there are 1,2 billion people aged between 15 and 24, which represents 16% of the population. These young people have a very important role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 as well as in building the world for the coming years. But young people still have a problem: their age. Indeed, they are often not taken seriously by adults. But for some young people, young rural people, there is also a second problem: the underdevelopment of rural areas.
Yet, rural youth are often considered the most talented because they are more open to technology and innovation. They are full of energy, dreams, and enthusiasm, which contrasts sharply with the underdevelopment of the areas where they live. These areas also present them with many problems. Indeed, a study conducted by Exaeco shows that, once they enter secondary school, rural youth hardly participate in any extracurricular activities because activities for their age group are too far from home. But without these activities, young people no longer have a place to unwind…
This raises the question: Are European projects a solution to these problems? Fundamentally, European projects are accessible to local and regional authorities as well as public institutions and serve “only” to finance projects aimed at restoring economic and social balance between EU countries and regions. However, upon closer examination, the benefits for young people in rural areas of participating in European projects are numerous, particularly in the case of Erasmus projects.
First of all, they enable young people to help rural areas develop. Indeed, European projects can in certain cases give money to improve certain spaces which can then bring life back to rural areas. European projects can also be used to create new spaces such as sports complexes, which allow young people to recreate these decompression spaces that they no longer had. But European projects are not only used to finance spaces. They can also help finance cultural projects such as Erasmus mobility, which once again allows young people to escape.
It is time for young people in rural areas to take advantage of this European funding to both improve their immediate environment and discover other ways of working and cultures. The community is ready to support them, so move forward! Let's go! Andiamo!
