<< Objectives >>The main tangible result of the project is the development of an ICT e-toolkit with information, instructions and practical advices for Youth Workers to teach young people to be entrepeneur sustainably with local products and how to promote them creatively. The other results are the development of the skills of the staff of the participating organizations to plan, deliver and facilitate this training to the Youth Workers.<< Implementation >>During the project, 3 activities are planned. The 1st one has to do with the design and creation of the first module of an e-toolkit with information and instructions on how young people can be entrepreneur with km0 products from their rural community. The 2nd is the development of module 2 of the e-toolkit, which will contain examples and practical cases. The 3rd is a pilot seminar where the Youth Workers will participate to test the e-toolkit and be able to guarantee the success of the course<< Results >>We hope that, after carrying out the last activity proposed in this project, rural youth, many of them immigrants, are trained for entrepreneurship and feel motivated to do so by taking advantage of the resources offered by their rural community with local products. In this way, we would meet our general and specific objectives, by reducing the unemployment rate in these areas, we would improve the green economy with sustainable practices for the environment.

"Main objective of this project is to find and test an effective way of education for councillors and social providers, whose are for us the primary target group. Through this education should happen in this target group:1) to change attitudes to learning in terms of lifelong learning,2) to reflection of the fact that social development in municipality and respect of needs of inhabitant is necessary part of investment events and building infrastructure,3) to ability to respond to the changing needs of inhabitant and service users.Secondary objective in the long term is an open social dialogue about the development of social services and improve the quality of life of the population in the LAG SJN between representatives and residents of the municipalities, which are for us indirect participants. The project outcome should be a set of recommendations on topic “How to provide social services in rural communities”.The project is built on the analysis of problems and needs that we have made in our territory during 2014, when we were formulating the Strategies of Community-led Local Development. It was found that representatives of small communities do not have the capacity Number of participants: 33, Profile of participant: Councilors, providers of social services and other key stakeholders from regions. Activities and methodology which we will apply in project:1. Short-term joint staff training event Used methods: Baseline study, visual facilitation, work in national group, mind maps2. Blended mobilityUsed methods: Work in national and international group, facilitation, mind maps, empowerment, shared examples of good practice) 3. Workshops in participating countries Used methods: Work in national and international group, facilitation, mind maps, empowerment, shared examples of good practice, video recording)4. Creation of video documentary(En, Cz, Fr, Slo) 5. Creating a set of recommendations on the topic ""How to provide social services in rural communities” 6. Creating paper brochures - design and content creation of brochures and its transfer into 4 languages: En, Cz, Fr, Slo7. EvaluationParticipants will gain skills that are essential for the analysis the needs of the population and for the efficient providing of social services. They will be willing to look for new approaches in the field of social development in terms of sustainability.Partner organizations will find ways to communicate effectively with the target group and they will start a long-term cooperation in the field of social development. This cooperation may take the form of further education in the field of community development or in the form of realization of the analysis of problems and needs of socially disadvantaged persons and the elderly. For which is the target group representatives of municipalities and social service providers crucial. Partner organizations (because of their collaboration with the target group) can become initiators of community planning in municipalities and rural areas. Partner organizations in this project will strengthen its position as educators of rural leaders.By implementation of the project and by using the results we expect better access to social services and sustainable solutions to social problems.If we manage to fulfill the intended goals of the project, the project has the potential for long-term sustainability. This sustainability we see especially in the crucial collaboration of representatives and social service providers. Due to Europe's demographic situation and the rapid aging of the population in rural areas, the number of potential clients will increase. Thanks to our project and other educational activities, and thanks to mutual cooperation, our target group can respond well the demographic changes.By our project will start cooperation between project organizations and the target group. It will educate and motivate key players in the region to seek and accept sustainable solutions. That will lead to social development and social inclusion of needy residens. Sustainability of the project will be reflected in the individual education plans that target group will create. The sustainability of partnership can be realized through international cooperation projects at LAG level, through international cooperation in other common fields (agriculture, sustainability of natural resources, education of youth, tourism)."

"""Partnership for geo-education"" is a project of collaboration between four non-governmental organizations from four different corners of Europe: Poland, Portugal, Iceland and Croatia. Despite different geographical and cultural contexts we have at least one thing in common: we work towards developing knowledge and awareness about natural values of our regions through education. Our regions are renowned for their geological interest, therefore have become subjects of geo-education.Our most important goal wa this project was to equip the adults of non-formal teaching professions (educators, trainers, guides) in knowledge, experience and methods for conducting interesting field-trips, complexly describing natural phenomena. This project focuses on outdoor geo-education, which can be much more satisfying to participants as it allows to see and touch the described phenomena. We want to base this education on local natural values, especially geology, because we believe that pupils (whatever the age) understand natural science best, when it is relevant to their everyday experience.The project activities included four international trainings (consisting of workshops and field trips) for project participants (trainers, educators, guides) and appointing an international team of experts to establish a field-trip geo-education methodology. The Methodology was prepared by a team of university professors, expert trainers and practitionners in education. It consists of a collection of experiences and good practices in leading and promoting geo-education from the four countries and a collection of 16 field trip scenarios that can be freely re-adapted and used by educators all around Europe. The Methodology is available under the Creative Commons License in English and four local languages.The project involved as many as 74 people of different bacgrounds and professions, but all working towards the development of their regions. They participated in the international project meetings and trainings and thanks to the project broadened their knowledge in geo-sciences and ways and means to promote it through geo-education.The project ended with multiplier events - conference and a field-trip in Poland and 3 local conferences in Portugal, Iceland and Croatia."

"<< Background >>The lead entity is a municipality in rural Galicia (OUTES) with a population of 6,200 inhabitants, fully committed to generating value in the primary sectors and promoting quality local services to settle the population and prevent the migration to the cities. The municipality has a Local Development Agency dedicated to the promotion of the entrepreneurial culture, with special focus on the promotion of the rural and social economy. In its daily work, this Agency has detected several problems/needs that are common to other countries of the European Union:1) Ageing populationAccording to the European Commission, ""Europe is ageing very dramatically, a process brought about by a significant increase in life expectancy and lower birth rates"". It is estimated that one in three regions will experience a population decline in the period between 2008 and 2030. According to Eurostat, this is most pronounced among the Baltic and Nordic countries, but also in countries of the former Soviet orbit (Bulgaria, Romania, eastern Germany), as well as the south (Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy, Croatia and the regions of central France).2) Abandonment of rural areas (Emptying Europe)According to the German think tank BBR, Europe's population is moving from the countryside to the cities. This transition, which began in the 20th century, is now reaching its peak. No matter where you look, rural land is being emptied for the benefit of the cities. Spain, together with the Netherlands and Belgium, is one of the EU countries with the smallest population living in rural areas. In Spain, only one in four (25.7%) inhabitants live in rural areas. According to World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects, in 2018 the percentage of rural population in Ireland was 36.83, in Croatia 43.05, in Italy 29.56 and in Germany 23.3) Lack of an intelligent support network for entrepreneurship, as well as lack of instruments for itThe municipality of Outes belongs to several local support networks, but there is a lack of networks at European level. The rest of the partners do not have an intelligent support network for entrepreneurship that facilitates the transfer of successful business models for rural areas. Also, there are no methodologies and instruments adapted to this type of specialised advice.4) Climate change and lack of awareness of the opportunities offered by the Circular Economy (CE)The CE focuses on the revaluation of natural resources and seeks to optimise them by increasing alternative uses, among other things. All those natural resources that are being wasted by letting rural areas die are an invaluable source of income. The circular economy must be promoted in rural areas, because it is in these rural areas where these resources are abundant, and where formulas can best be studied to revalue and optimise them to the highest possible degree.CIRCULAR.rur aims to develop the adaptive capacity of the rural environment to climate change, which is particularly affecting Europe's rural areas. One of the main challenges for rural development policy makers and practitioners (Local Development Agents) is to maximise the potential of emerging climate resilience opportunities such as CE.Providing an answer to Europe's future rural entrepreneurs, and improving their climate resilience to become real drivers of change through the application of CE principles, contributes directly to achieving UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.<< Objectives >>The overall purpose of CIRCULAR.rur will be to promote the transfer of innovative CE knowledge and the development of new CE-based business models that respond to the expectations of national and European labour markets and provide new opportunities for activation to face current challenges, fostering more modern and sustainable rural environments, through the intelligent support of rural development professionals to future entrepreneurs in rural Europe.Specific objectives:O1: To analyse the success factors that determine the viability of rural circular economy business models. O2: To foster strategic cooperation at European level through the creation of a transnational network for the activation of EU rural environments through CE.O3: To create a favourable framework for the transfer of Circular Economy knowledge between the rural community (development agents, enterprises, students and rural population in general) and EU university and technology centres.O4: To boost the creation of smart support and training mechanisms and instruments to foster applied innovation for business development in European rural environments.O5: To provide the business support agents from European rural areas, with new knowledge, capacities and skills based on CE.O6: To raise awareness of the European VET schools' educational community about the CE approach and its potential for rural areas.CIRCULAR.rur will function as a knowledge generation network that will help to get an overall picture on the success factors of entrepreneurial business models linked to CE applicable to rural areas in the EU and in terms of capacity building needs of Local Development Agents and professionals for intelligent advice on new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas.CIRCULAR.rur considers rural development and/or employment professionals as its priority target group. Moreover, as CE is a multidimensional process, this project also addresses stakeholders linked to rural development in a broad sense: trainers, students, professionals in need of training in cross-cutting CE skills, young people, rural inhabitants, local and/or rural development associations and rural women.CIRCULAR.RUR will have a high impact by informing on best practices in the applicability of CE principles in the European rural environment, capacity building and transfer of technical and scientific knowledge related to CE, influencing the target group and recipients through the activities, deliverables, training and methodologies developed during its implementation and by improving the practices of smart support to the future circular entrepreneur. The results of the project will be transferable in the long term to VET schools and universities in any European country.<< Implementation >>In order to facilitate the implementation of the project, the activities have been organised into different Working Groups and assigned to a partner for coordination, thus ensuring an equitable distribution:WG1 Coordination and Management1.1. Financial and administrative management.1.2. Organisation of 4 transnational meetings of the Steering Committee.1.3. Internal evaluation of the project activities.Leader: OUTESTimetable: 01.11.2021 - 01.11.2023WG2 Dissemination and communication2.1 Planning and coordination of the project communication activities 2.2 Organisation of the project launch event2.3 Development of the website and design of a corporate identity for the project2.4 Dissemination of the project on social networks2.5 Development and distribution of the project newsletter2.6 Design and distribution of the project e-brochure2.7 Dissemination of the project results in the promotion and communication activities of each partner2.8 Organisation of stakeholder workshops 2.9 Organisation of events to disseminate the project's results (pilot sessions)2.10 Organisation of the European seminar in Brussels2.11 Organisation of the Final forum2.12 Promotion, dissemination and exploitation of the results of the project within the Erasmus+ platformLeader: LAG ZSTimetable: 01.11.2021 - 01.11.2023WG3 Smart advice on circular economy business models for rural development3.1 Development of mechanisms and methodologies for smart counselling on new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas.3.2 Comparative analysis of success factors for the elaboration of a feasibility assessment test of rural CE projects3.3 Development of a toolbox for smart specialisation in new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas, adapted to the Green, Circular and Blue Economy and accessible to people with functional diversity and/or vulnerable groups.Leader: HWWITimetable: 01.11.2021 - 30.06.2022WG4: Capacity building for smart advice on new circular business opportunities in rural Europe4.1 Defining key competences for smart counselling on circular entrepreneurship in rural areas4.2 Development of the contents, format, activities, assessment and learning sequences for the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)4.3 Organisation of a pilot intensive training programme (for local agents, trainers and other professionals supporting entrepreneurship in rural areas). It will include study visits and pilot activities with VET schools4.4 Evaluation of the results of the pilot training programme and transfer of improvements to the final version of the MOOC.Leader: WINTimetable: 01.03.2022 - 28.02.2023WG5: Knowledge transfer for the new European ruralities5.1 Creation and articulation of a transnational network for the promotion and development of the rural environment in the European Union through the Circular Economy5.2 Design of Circular.Rur Lab (open digital platform of intelligent specialisation for advice on CE initiatives, dedicated to training, accompanying and exploring, reflecting on and disseminating knowledge and experiences related to this topic).5.3 Pilot training sessions with SMEs, entrepreneurship support associations, local administrations and VET centres.Leader: CAPANNORITimetable: 01.09.2022 – 01.11.2023<< Results >>The results will advance the innovative character of rural development programmes and generate a significant toolkit of smart circular entrepreneurship support tools to be used by rural development practitioners and other stakeholders to support the transformation and development of rural enterprises to face the challenges of rural depopulation, lack of generational change and climate change.These are the expected results in relation to the specific Working Groups (WGs):1) Joint methodology for smart advice on new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas (PI1).2) Infographics of best practices of sustainable business models in rural areas (accessible with pictograms)3) Digital mapping of best practices (incorporating the previous deliverable)4) Benchmarking study on success factors of businesses based on the Circular Economy5) Toolbox for smart specialisation in new sustainable business opportunities in rural areas, adapted to the Green, Circular and Blue Economy and accessible to people with functional diversity and/or vulnerable groups (PI2)6) Digital diagnostic questionnaire (to check the viability of a business model)7) Smart Advice App8) MOOC for smart counselling on circular entrepreneurship in rural areas9) Training of trainers (Ireland) to validate and improve the MOOC10) MOOC Programme Evaluation Report11) Final version of the MOOC (PI3)12) Transnational network for the promotion and development of the rural environment in the EU through the CE13) Collaborative platform for training and smart mentoring of rural entrepreneurs in circular economy (PI4)14) 5 Multiplier events (1 European seminar, 3 Pilot sessions and 1 Final forum)In relation to transversal WGs:1) Intermediate and final financial and progress reports2) 4 coordination meetings (agenda, minutes, photo archive)3) Evaluation plan and intermediate and final reports4) Operational communication plan with an open access strategy; press clipping5) Website, creation of logo and project identity6) 100 contacts per partner7) Project account on 3 social networks8) 4 issues of the e-newsletter (3,200 distributions in total)9) Project presentation e-leaflet and video of results with testimonies (800 e-leaflets and 800 videos distributed in total) 10) Project space on the partners' website11) 1 Presentation event12) 4 Workshops with local stakeholders12) 5 multiplier events13) 1 project results publication on the Erasmus+ Platform.Once completed, the project will have provided strategic keys for the smart support of future circular entrepreneurs in rural areas and especially women and vulnerable groups living in rural areas. It will also have contributed to training and transferring advanced knowledge in relation to the circular economy to local development agents.The project will also contribute to raise awareness among the educational community of European VET schools about the CE approach and its potential for rural areas as an element of resilience to the challenge of climate change, promoting the generation of a discourse on the need for behavioural change regarding preferences, consumption habits and lifestyles of rural youth, extending it to the whole rural community.CIRCULAR.rur will be a forum for transformative reflection and exchange of best practices for the transfer of CE knowledge between the rural community (development agents, businesses, entrepreneurship support professionals, students and the rural population in general) and EU university and technology centres on the most potential measures to have a retaining effect on rural businesses."

Context/background of the project;The project is based around the LEADER program which is a highly effective and successful model of integrated social and economic development in rural communities. The opportunities for capacity building and knowledge exchange between regions/countries across Europe are significant. Regions with extensive experience in LEADER program implementation can share their approaches and methods with new EU Member States (MS) and options for cooperation identified between regions/countries across Europe. Furthermore the effective management of the LEADER Programme can be enhanced through building the knowledge, skills and capacities of those working within Local Aaction Groups (LAGs) and Local Development Companies (LDCs)Objectives;Th key objectives of the TELI2 Project were toa) Carry out research on the delivery of LEADER in member states and training needs of LEADER staff and Board membersb) Develop a programme in LEADER programme management, which would be accrediated on the European Qualifications Framework (EQF)c) To deliver a best practice-based training course of implementation to LEADER company management and staff recruited by all the LEADER-related partners.Number and profile of participating organisations;The TELI2 project involved 10 partners from Ireland (2), Poland (1), Romania (1), Slovenia (2), Croatia (2) and Portugal (1). The partners represented Academic and Training Organisations (Limerick Institute of Technology (IE) and University of Ljubljana (SL)) and Local Action Groups (Dolina Raby (PL), SECAD (IE), Dobrogea Centrala (RO), Development agency Kozjansko (SL), Zeleni Bregi (HR), Adrimag (PT), ACE (PT), Zrinska Gora-Turopolje (HR). Expert staff from each partner contributed their knowledge and skills across the field of education/training, rural development, sustainable development, LEADER Programme management, project management and dissemination. The participant organisations have extensive experience in the delivery of LEADER programmes, the delivery of high quality Rural Development and Sustainable Development Education and the management and delivery of successful European Projects. In addition, 16 people selected from the LAGs completed the programme.Description of undertaken main activities;The project has been successful in implementing all aspects of the planned work programme.Firstly a detailed analysis of LEADER Programme implementation was completed on the basis of a survey of LAGs and relevant organisations across the EU. Analysis of inputs from 169 respondents to an on-line survey and 45 participants in Focus Groups were compiled into a dedicated report profiling the approaches to LEADER implementation across Europe. In addition, this report also provided conclusions on the Training needs of those working in LEADER organisations across Europe. This input feed directly into the next phase of developing a Certificate in LEADER Programme Management.LIT, in consultation with University of Ljubljana, developed an education programme to meets the needs as outlined in the research. Various methods of programme accrediation were researched and finally the programme was accrediated through LIT as a Special Purpose Award - Level 7 on EQF. The programme has a total of 30 ECTS and designed for delivery as a blended learning programme.The programme was delivered to 18 participants, who were selected by the LAG partners, LIT and UL. The participants completed the programme over a 6 month period including completion of 3 Learning Weeks in IE, PT and PL. Participants completed modules on Communications and Facilitation, LEADER Approach and Neo-Endogenous Rural and LEADER Programme Management and Organisational Skills. 13 of participants successfully received the academic accreditation at the end of the progamme.The outputs and outcomes from the project were widely disseminated through a variety of channels including Website, Social Media, Newsletters and Mutilplier Events.Results and impact attained;The critical result has been the upskilling of 16 representatives from LAGs across Europe on how to implement and manage the LEADER Programme in their regions. All participants engaged actively in the programme and while 3 did not receive the final academic accreditation they have still acquired the relevant knowledge and skills from the programme. The extensive exchanges between the project partners both during project meetings and the Learning/Teaching/Training activities has created a strong community and bond between the partners and discussions are on-going on how to further the work completed in the project into other areas through further collaborations. 236 people attended the Multiplier Events and contributed to engaged discussions on how the LEADER Programme can be utilised to enhance the lives of people in regions across Europe.