Rural Youth Alternative Futures: New Narratives and Possibilities Empowering Rural Communities

About

Jointly organised by the European Rural Youth Observatory (EURYO) and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, this five-day Summer School explores rural youth alternative futures, focusing on new narratives and pathways for inclusive and sustainable rural development.

The programme combines conceptual frameworks, empirical evidence, and applied perspectives to address the structural and emerging challenges shaping rural youth lives across Europe.

Through keynote lectures, thematic sessions, and interactive discussions, participants will engage with core domains such as rural youth mobilities, education and skills pathways, decent and meaningful work, youth entrepreneurship, and community resilience, all situated within broader debates on territorial cohesion, social inclusion, and sustainable development.

The Summer School will take place in Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira Island (The Azores).
The programme includes a field visit to Terinov Science and Technology Park, offering direct contact with local entrepreneurs and place-based innovation initiatives in a rural island and outermost context

Target group

PhD, junior and senior researchers;
youth and social workers;
students and practitioners in related fields

Course aim

The Summer School allows participants to:
-develop a solid understanding of community approach based on participatory methods;
-acquire skills in community-based methodologies, learning how to engage, mobilise, and empower communities effectively
-analyze key rural challenges;
-gain insights into pressing issues such as: social and territorial cohesion, rural youth mobilities, educational pathways in rural contexts, youth entrepreneurship in rural areas, decent and meaningful jobs in rural areas, strengthening local communities to respond to rural youth needs;
-develop context-specific approaches and to learn how to adapt interdisciplinary frameworks to design culturally and socially responsive community initiatives.

A digital Open Badge and a Certificate of Attendance will be issued at the end of the Summer School to highlight and easily share acquired skills, abilities, and knowledge

Fee info