Our project "Local Springs of Global Change" is an innovative, creative and dynamic transnational youth initiative of two informal groups of young people - the group "ZC" of association Društvo Zelena centrala, Slovenia, and the group Terra of association Terraepaglia Plus from Italy. The initiative is the response to the perceived needs of our local communities (rural areas in north-eastern Slovenia and central Italy), among others: a high youth unemployment rate and precarious first jobs for young people, brain drain, social deprivation and exclusion, health problems and increasing social inequality among young people. A special attention is given to young people from the peasant environment. The key context of our project is the growing crisis of small European family farms and the (un)sustainable development of European rural areas in relation to global climate change. We are actively addressing the urgency of action according to IPCC report Global Warming 1.5°C. We want to use environmental challenges as an opportunity to empower young people in European rural areas and create new jobs. The initiative aims to actively involve at least 40 young people up to 30 years of age, especially those with fewer opportunities due to health, social, economic and geographical obstacles, and empower them through innovative activities of non-formal education of social entrepreneurship in frames of sustainable development of rural areas, agro-ecology, protection of local natural sources of drinking water, clean groundwater and efficient rainwater utilization. We will carry out two mixed mobility activities for young people in the form of 10-day theoretical and practical workshops at the organic farm in Umbria (September 2019) and the organic farm in Slovenske gorice (July 2019). We want to provide young people from the rural environments of Slovenia and Italy, regardless of their education, social or economic status, a supportive environment for the development of their innovative ideas, and find alternative ways for them to work within family farms in a way that does not only solve the (local) social and economic concerns of young people and their families in the peasant environment, but does also address the (global) issues of functional ecosystems and effective prevention of climate change. Other objectives of the project are: sustainable management of all local (re)sources (natural and non); understanding of the relationships between “local” and “global” (management of local resources is the source of positive or negative global change); improving the situation of European family farms, raising awareness of the importance of family farms, combating climate change, taking action according to the report Global Warming 1.5°C. The project aims to launch a comprehensive campaign to actively network and raise awareness of the importance of empowered young people for sustainable rural development, the importance of sustainable rural development to combat climate change, and the need for immediate action against global warming. In the frames of the awareness-raising campaign, we will shape a short protocol in the shape of instructions entitled "Youth work and Global Warming 1.5°C - simple measures by which youth projects can contribute to combat global warming". During winter holiday the protocol will be distributed to other youth organizations in Slovenia, Italy and Europe and to the general public as a "Christmas Gift for the Future". In cooperation with associated partners, we will also organize an international photo competition of reportage photography "Local springs of global change", which will capture young people from the rural (peasant) areas and their contribution to general (local and global) well-being. The project will be concluded with a two-day festival at the organic farm in Slovenia and a photo exhibition in Slovenia and Italy under the slogan "Be the spring of positive global change!"
We believe that young people from rural areas want to work in the places where they come from, but do not receive sufficient encouragement and understanding. Local political structures do not know how to establish appropriate mechanisms to resolve the situation and the consequences are negative for many - family farms, rural local communities, the global climate, national food security and self-sufficiency, and especially for young people in rural areas who “use” the countryside only as a sleeping settlement while being employed in cities. An extensive campaign on the importance of empowered young people for sustainable rural development and a campaign on the importance of sustainable rural development in combating climate change were key objectives of our project. We wanted to connect young people in rural and urban centers and improve the social status of young people within traditional rural local communities by exchanging good practices and mutual support. We wanted to equip the participants with relevant high-quality skills for entering the labor market with a niche offer of products and services in the field of sustainable rural development and agro-ecology, especially in the field of rational use of local resources.
With the project we wanted to connect peers from rural areas of Slovenia and Italy and walk the path of empowerment through innovative non-formal education on social entrepreneurship in the field of sustainable rural development and agro-ecology, especially in the field of protection of local natural resources - fertile soil, drinking water, clean groundwater, efficient use of rainwater and flood prevention. With the project, we wanted to draw attention to the situation of young people in rural areas and the importance of prevention of climate change for sustainable rural development. We paid particular attention to family farms, which many institutions cite as a central resource in the fight against global warming, while, on the other hand, the biggest victims of climate change. The amounts of precipitation in spring and summer have decreased in Slovenia and Italy, and dry periods are becoming more frequent. The amount of newly fallen snow is decreasing by 15% per decade, instead we face severe winter downpours and floods. Preventing floods and storing winter rainfall until dry springs and summers is a life-saving challenge. Our project sought to use these challenges as an opportunity to empower young people in rural areas.
Our project "Local Springs of Global Change" is an innovative, creative and dynamic transnational youth initiative of two informal groups of young people - the group "ZC" of association Društvo Zelena centrala, Slovenia, and the group Terra of association Terraepaglia Plus from Italy. The initiative is the response to the perceived needs of our local communities (rural areas in north-eastern Slovenia and central Italy), among others: a high youth unemployment rate and precarious first jobs for young people, brain drain, social deprivation and exclusion, health problems and increasing social inequality among young people. A special attention is given to young people from the peasant environment. The key context of our project is the growing crisis of small European family farms and the (un)sustainable development of European rural areas in relation to global climate change. We are actively addressing the urgency of action according to IPCC report Global Warming 1.5°C. We want to use environmental challenges as an opportunity to empower young people in European rural areas and create new jobs. The initiative aims to actively involve at least 40 young people up to 30 years of age, especially those with fewer opportunities due to health, social, economic and geographical obstacles, and empower them through innovative activities of non-formal education of social entrepreneurship in frames of sustainable development of rural areas, agro-ecology, protection of local natural sources of drinking water, clean groundwater and efficient rainwater utilization. We will carry out two mixed mobility activities for young people in the form of 10-day theoretical and practical workshops at the organic farm in Umbria (September 2019) and the organic farm in Slovenske gorice (July 2019). We want to provide young people from the rural environments of Slovenia and Italy, regardless of their education, social or economic status, a supportive environment for the development of their innovative ideas, and find alternative ways for them to work within family farms in a way that does not only solve the (local) social and economic concerns of young people and their families in the peasant environment, but does also address the (global) issues of functional ecosystems and effective prevention of climate change. Other objectives of the project are: sustainable management of all local (re)sources (natural and non); understanding of the relationships between “local” and “global” (management of local resources is the source of positive or negative global change); improving the situation of European family farms, raising awareness of the importance of family farms, combating climate change, taking action according to the report Global Warming 1.5°C. The project aims to launch a comprehensive campaign to actively network and raise awareness of the importance of empowered young people for sustainable rural development, the importance of sustainable rural development to combat climate change, and the need for immediate action against global warming. In the frames of the awareness-raising campaign, we will shape a short protocol in the shape of instructions entitled "Youth work and Global Warming 1.5°C - simple measures by which youth projects can contribute to combat global warming". During winter holiday the protocol will be distributed to other youth organizations in Slovenia, Italy and Europe and to the general public as a "Christmas Gift for the Future". In cooperation with associated partners, we will also organize an international photo competition of reportage photography "Local springs of global change", which will capture young people from the rural (peasant) areas and their contribution to general (local and global) well-being. The project will be concluded with a two-day festival at the organic farm in Slovenia and a photo exhibition in Slovenia and Italy under the slogan "Be the spring of positive global change!"