From 7 to 11 September 2026, Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira Island (Azores, Portugal), hosted the EURYO Summer School “Rural Youth Alternative Futures: New Narratives and Possibilities”, organised by the European Rural Youth Observatory (EURYO) together with Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. The RootRural project took part in this intensive programme, dedicated to rural youth and the right to stay in one’s own territory.
The Summer School brought together participants from over 20 countries, alongside leading speakers and researchers working on rural development, youth entrepreneurship and social innovation across Europe. Alongside the training sessions, the programme included visits to the territory, including the Terinov Science and Technology Park, connecting theory with real, place-based initiatives on the island.
On the last day, RootRural had the opportunity to present our project’s work at the 1st EURYO Conference, “The Right to Stay, The Right to Prosper: Rural Young People in Contemporary European Societies”, held in parallel with the Summer School on 11 September. It was a chance to share our findings on narrative change in rural communities with an international audience of researchers, practitioners and policymakers.
Being part of this gathering reinforced what RootRural stands for: rural areas are not places people simply leave — they are territories worth building a future in, when the right conditions, networks and narratives are in place.
Roots and Horizons: Cultivating a Culture of Opportunities in the Territory
Roots and Horizons: Cultivating a Culture of Opportunities in the Territory
Funded by: European Union through the Erasmus+ (2025-1-ES01-KA210-ADU-000353379),in collaboration with the Spanish National Agency SEPIE.
The “ROOT RURAL” project is co-funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors, Asociación Tierras Sorianas del Cid and Rural Move, and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE). Neither the European Union nor the SEPIE National Agency can be held responsible for them.
