To increase inclusion and democratic participation, we would like to launch RurALL, a project to empower rural citizens, so they are able to take on an active role in the development and implementation of future environmental policies relevant to EU rural areas. Our main goal is to reach rural citizens who are currently inactive or disappointed by existing local or EU-level policymaking and show them new ways of how they can engage in practice, make their voices heard, and benefit from participating in local and EU-level environmental actions and policies. We would also like to gather important data regarding the current levels of climate policy awareness of rural people, and specific local environmental issues and concerns, as well as evidence regarding the efficiency of various participatory mechanisms in different rural target groups and environments. 

Our project is built on the belief that ‘citizen participation is citizen power’. 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) that equip them with important skills and knowledge to represent their interests, strengthen their capacity to launch and run local initiatives, and formulate place-based recommendations to relevant policymakers. Each project activity will use a different participatory method in line with the three stages of active citizen participation as identified by the OECD – information, consultation, and engagement. 

In the first phase of the project, we will conduct a research and surveys with rural citizens to assess their knowledge and awareness of EU climate goals and policies as well as participatory methods. The findings of the research will be presented to a wider circle of relevant stakeholders, including environmental and rural development experts, NGOs, and national and EU policymakers in an international online symposium, which also provides a platform to exchange knowledge and best practices regarding rural environmental participation. We will then organize national events in all project countries, including trainings and participation and modelling workshops to provide tools and knowledge on active citizen participation in environmental policymaking and citizen engagement. Local communities will also be encouraged to identify local environmental challenges and come up with concrete, place-based solutions to address them in workshops and eco-placemaking events. Rural youth will be involved in an international hackathon to create innovative solutions for climate-related local problems with the participation of teams formed by applicants. We will also train target groups in visual storytelling and collect stories of how rural people envision a sustainable rural future. Finally, local citizens will be given a platform to voice their concerns to local policymakers in virtual town hall meetings, where they can also share their recommendations regarding local environmental action.

The project contributes to the 2nd priority (engaging citizens and communities in discussion and action on climate change and environment) with the intended impact of promoting participatory democracy and environmental action in rural areas in five EU countries and collecting best practices and building up a wealth of knowledge that can later be used by other rural communities across the EU. 

Main target groups

Our main target groups are local rural citizens in designated rural areas in the project countries (see description of project areas). While we would like to ensure inclusivity and open access during our activities (which will be facilitated by online events and livestreaming of in-situ events), we would specifically like to reach and engage:

• Rural youth: aged 18-35, both long-time residents and recent urban-rural migrants. They may work in farming or agriculture or in local industries in or near urban centers and may be active or currently inactive in local community actions and policymaking. We have chosen to focus on rural youth as they tend to be more invested in environmental issues and they are also key to the continued prosperity of rural areas. Aging and depopulation are grave challenges and motivating rural youth to stay in their areas and actively engage in local matters is a key condition for rural renewal. They will be empowered to be more engaged in local actions and provided with tools and methods to transform their creative ideas into reality.
• Local NGOs, volunteers, and activists: mostly active in environmental and community building issues, they have a significant influence in their communities and can serve as mobilizing forces for other citizens. Would like to assist them with capacity building and, indirectly, by recruiting and renewal through the mobilization of new groups of active citizens.
• Local farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs: they are particularly affected by climate change thus their involvement is crucial for green transition. Will specifically benefit from education and training regarding EU participatory methods, available policy influencing tools and funding opportunities as well as collecting insights regarding their needs .
• Rural women: as rural women tend to be underrepresented in local decision- and policymaking, we will pay special attention to reaching and involving them in trainings and community actions. 

Local communities and other citizens will benefit from the trainings and workshops as they will acquire skills and knowledge that enable them to better participate in the decision-making processes that impact their lives and communities. As most of our activities are based on concrete local needs, they will also be supported by the planning and implementation of new, sustainable solutions and local initiatives that can improve their environment. The general public, mostly other rural communities across Europe will be involved in the visual storytelling events, which will raise awareness of the importance of rural areas in the European green transition and provide a platform for citizens to share their visions of a green and prosperous rural future. They will also benefit from project results and access to best practices in rural participation that can be replicated in other rural communities in the future. 

Finally, EU and local policymakers, and rural development stakeholders will also be assisted by the project through relevant research findings and concrete recommendations from project partners and citizens. Selected local policymakers will also be involved in the simulation workshops, where we can build collaboration between decision-makers and citizens.