Living in a rural area means growing up within a close network of relationships, recognising oneself in the faces of the community, experiencing nature as an everyday space, and enjoying a quality of life that cities often cannot offer. But for many young people, it also means dealing with insufficient transport, limited job opportunities, restricted services, weak digital connectivity, and a lack of spaces truly designed for them.
The testimonies collected in Portugal bring this tension to light: on the one hand, the deep value that some young people recognise in the villages where they live, the solidarity among people, and an education system that is closer to each person’s needs; on the other, the very real risk that the absence of opportunities forces young women and men to move elsewhere for education, work, and social life.
Each voice raises a political and collective question: what is needed so that staying in a rural area becomes a real choice, rather than a consequence of having no alternatives?
There is a generation that does not want to abandon its roots, but is asking for opportunities and a concrete commitment from institutions through public policies capable of making these territories lively, accessible, and open to young people’s aspirations.
These testimonies were collected within the framework of RURALEM – Youth Rural Empowerment, a European project that places young people’s agency at the centre of efforts to address rural depopulation. Through training, international exchanges, practical tools, and Rural Lab (spaces for co-design and social innovation), the project works to strengthen the participation of younger generations and enable them to become active drivers of change in their own territories.
The need to invest in services and participation
Active participation and social initiatives against depopulation
Nature, personalised education and the issue of territorial inequality
The human value of community and the challenge of digital connectivity
PARTNER: Maghweb (Italia), Casa d’Abòbora (Portogallo), Udruga SUMA (Croazia), Creas IDs (Spagna), Together for Personal Development (Bulgaria)
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.