RurALL – Rural active citizenship labs

ongoing

Achieving the EU’s ambitious goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent laid down in the European Green Deal and transforming the Long-term Rural Vision into reality will require decisive local action and the support and active engagement of rural communities and citizens. RurALL is a project founded on the belief that ‘citizen participation is citizen power’. Our goal is to boost rural citizen participation in climate and environment-related public discussions, actions, and policymaking by reaching and involving rural citizens who are currently inactive in or disappointed by existing local or EU-level policymaking. We would like to guide rural citizens through different stages of participation from awareness raising and information through community action to engagement with policymakers. In the project activities, we will test, implement, and promote innovative citizen engagement and participatory methods among rural target audiences in five EU Member States (Hungary, Slovakia, France, Portugal, and Spain). Project activities and methods will include research and consultation with rural target groups, trainings on EU climate policies and participatory methods, decision-making modeling and simulation workshops, eco placemaking activities realized in local communities, an international hackathon for rural youth to design and collaborate on innovative solutions to environmental problems, a visual storytelling-focused workshop and campaign, and a virtual town hall meeting between citizens and policymakers. Our goal is to educate and mobilize new groups of rural citizens in local and EU-level environmental actions and policymaking, show pathways to rural eco activism, and empower and encourage local citizens to launch and participate in local co-designed activities related to their environment and take on an active role in the green transition.