In a two-year project, seven partners from six European countries will exchange their experiences and develop transferable solutions and new strategies under the theme “Future viability of families in European rural areas”. The rural areas of Europe and the regions involved in the project are exposed to risky change: economic decline, lack of jobs and development prospects, as well as the increasing loss of services, education and cultural offerings are causing steady emigration, especially of young women. Demographic change is also leading to an aging population, threatened by mobility and health care deficits as well as social isolation. This could lead to entire regions being undocked from general development. To keep people in the region and to motivate others to move in prospectively, the project aims to strengthen the compatibility of family and work as a location factor and thus contributing to greater equal opportunities in rural areas despite geographical obstacles. Bridging the gap between politics, administration and business, the project bundles a wide variety of European experiences: transferable solutions of the partners will be identified and new strategies developed to promote equal participation, self-determination and equality of people in professional and social life. Local decision-makers will be empowered to find flexible political measures and local solutions to keep the population (especially workers and families) in the region. In addition, business-related actors will be involved in the project. Furthermore, a goal-oriented cooperation between municipalities and companies will be initiated and supported. Our project goals are: 1. Sustainable strengthening of family friendliness as a central challenge of the future and an important location factor in rural regions of Europe 2. Analysis and documentation of similarities and differences in the partner regions as well as exchange of good ideas, methods and practices 3. Establishing and strengthening of regional networks for the compatibility of family and work as well as the establishment of a European network 4. Development, expansion and updating of competencies to strengthen the location factor family friendliness (for municipalities, companies etc.) 5. Setting new impulses for the compatibility of family and work in order to counteract the shortage of skilled workers and demographic change 6. Improving cooperation between companies and municipalities, acting together and utilizing development potential (family friendliness as a cross-sectional Task) The achievement of goals can be measured based on the following results and success factors: 1. Gaining knowledge through the Europe-wide exchange of experiences 2. Best practice catalog for a successful work-life balance (in English and national language) 3. Strategy for raising awareness of the compatibility of family and work (in English and the national language) 4. Implementation of individual measures at companies/municipalities by at least 2 project partners to improve the compatibility of family and work 5. Active public relations (classic media work, presence in social networks) 6. European added value: transnational problem solving by bundling transnational expert knowledge (project team, other stakeholders), common European identity through transnational project work and building a European network
One of the goals of the project was to sustainably strengthen family-friendliness as a central challenge for the future and an important location factor in Europe's rural regions. Furthermore, the project should analyse and document the similarities and differences in the partner regions and exchange good ideas, methods and practices in the individual regions. During the project, regional networks for the compatibility of family and career as well as a European network were to be established and strengthened, as well as competencies for strengthening the location factor of family-friendliness in the municipalities and in the companies. As a further goal, new impulses should be given to reconciling family and career in order to counteract the shortage of skilled workers and demographic change that all partner regions have in common. At the same time, the project aimed to improve cooperation between municipalities and companies by acting together and exploiting development potential. Family-friendliness should always be a cross-sectional task.
The applicant, the district administration of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, has anchored family-friendliness as an important and declared goal in its mission statement. That is why family-friendly measures have been developed for many years, also against the background of a lack of manpower for the economy and demographic change, the emigration of young people and the ageing of the population. In order to keep the people in the region or to motivate them to move to this region in the future, to retain workers in enterprises, to offer good living and working conditions, the partners of this project should exchange theirs experiences because the regions of all partners face the same situation in their regions. During this project solutions and new strategies should be developed and implemented in these regions, responsible actors should be involved during the project period.