The main goal was to increase the capacity of 60 adults living in rural areas of Romania and Bulgaria in having a more qualitative life, accessing relevant learning opportunities, improving their key competences and progress towards higher qualifications for increased employability chances. Thus, we set three main objectives: 1. To develop specific competences (knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors) from the area of personal development, for 60 vulnerable adults from rural areas of Romania and Bulgaria; 2. To enhance the effective use of the competences developed, in at least 2 follow-up activities for each adult, 120 in total; 3. To support the exchange of experience and good practices in the area of personal development of adults from rural areas, among the 60 adults from the 2 partner organizations. All objectives are directly linked to the priorities of the project: guiding the target group through a detailed non-formal learning journey, helping them discover and develop their skill level, acquire knew knowledge, improve their positive attitude, providing guidance to ensure they have access to relevant learning, joint work for the creation and development of flexible learning activities.
There were several needs that we wanted to address in this project: first of all, at European level (Eurostat 2021), adult participation rate for education and training in rural areas was very low (7.8%), the lowest in comparison with urban areas or suburbs. The Council Resolution on a new European Agenda for Adult Learning (Council of the EU 29.11.2021) highlights the need to significantly increase adult participation in formal, non-formal and informal learning with goals in mind such as to enhance their employment prospects, develop personally or professionally, to obtain transferrable skills, such as critical thinking, etc. Furthermore, one of the main targets of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, 60% of all adults should be participating in training every year by 2030. Least but not last, adults from rural area are most often forgotten when it comes to programs such as personal development because they face many social disadvantages and already have issues that are most times more urgent or more important than personal development. The core aim of the project was to reverse this order and make them understand that there is no professional development without personal development.