The two RootRural partner organisations took part in the EURYO Summer School 2026 in the Azores, which has produced a manifesto setting out six priorities so that living in a rural area never means fewer rights or fewer opportunities.
On 26 October, the European Rural Youth Observatory (EURYO) published the Rural Youth Alternative Futures Manifesto, a collective document developed during its Summer School, held from 7 to 11 September in Angra do Heroísmo (Terceira Island, Azores) and co-organised by EURYO and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.
Tierras Sorianas del Cid and Rural Move, partners in the Erasmus+ project RootRural (Roots and Horizons), took part in this gathering of young people, researchers and practitioners from across Europe. Over five days of participatory workshops, participants worked on mobility, education, entrepreneurship, community resilience and inclusion, and RootRural shared its work on narratives of opportunity in rural areas.
The manifesto starts from a clear idea: rural young people should be able to stay, leave, return and build a dignified future without their opportunities being determined by their postcode. And the policies that affect them must be made with young people, not just for them.
Six priorities for rural youth
- Freedom to move and stay connected.
- Decent, fair and meaningful work.
- Education for real life and rural futures.
- Entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.
- Communities where young people belong.
- Housing and the right to build a future.
Many of these priorities match RootRural’s work in both territories: the exchanges between Soria and Miranda do Douro, training and mentoring for entrepreneurs, the co-creation laboratories, and the work with families and the educational community to change how young people see their future in rural areas. Taking part in this manifesto strengthens both organisations’ commitment to rural young people as leading actors in their territories.
Read and download the manifesto
The full document is available to read and download on the EURYO website: Rural Youth Alternative Futures Manifesto. EURYO invites youth organisations, stakeholders, researchers and policymakers to read it, share it and help spread its message.
Read more about RootRural’s participation in the EURYO Summer School 2026.
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.
