An EU programme aims to give new momentum to rural civic engagement

Harghita County Council hosted its project partners at an international meeting between June 26 and 29 within the RURAL-EU programme. During the four-day event, young people from Italy, Spain and Croatia came to Harghita County to jointly reflect on the future of rural communities, youth engagement, and opportunities to strengthen local civic initiatives.

The project titled Connecting Rural Europe: Networking and Development in Small Towns, supported by the European Commission’s CERV (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) programme, aims to strengthen connections among European rural communities, promote the exchange of experiences, and bring young people, civil society organisations and local decision-makers closer together.

During the meeting, participants became familiar with the values of Harghita County through professional programmes, community-building activities and cultural experiences, while also having the opportunity to share their own experiences and jointly seek answers to the challenges faced by rural areas across Europe.

A key objective of the project is to encourage young people to take an active role in the development of their communities and to formulate proposals that contribute to improving the quality of life in rural settlements, strengthening social innovation, and encouraging young people to remain in their local areas.

The four-day programme focused not only on theory but also on practice and community building. The core of the festival was the interactive “Rural Youth Festival Mission” organised in Odorheiu Secuiesc. As part of this field exercise, participants had to explore the city independently, identifying active civic initiatives, local craftsmen, and initiating intergenerational conversations. At the peak of the challenge, they expressed the project’s key question in one-minute videos: “Why is it good to be young in Szeklerland?”

The event also reinforced the commitment of Harghita County Council to international cooperation, active civic life and the strengthening of European connections, which can contribute in the long term to the development and resilience of rural communities.