The Clubs4Europe project offered arena for the voices of the rural people on core topics as citizens’ participation, equality, democracy, inclusion and diversity in all spheres of the daily life, promoting learning opportunities for people from different cultures and generations. The partnership aimed to address the specific E+ Programme priorities by providing learning opportunities on EU values and policies through public debates and workshops, targeting diverse generations in rural areas. Its objectives included fostering a sense of European identity, encouraging active participation in the democratic life of the Union, and bridging social divides across remote regions. Additionally, it focused on combatting stigmatization of disadvantaged community members, promoting tolerance, and fostering empathy for a more cohesive society. By overcoming territorial inequalities and engaging various local communities, the partnership sought to create a more inclusive & democratic Europe. Furthermore, it emphasized the importance of political activism, encouraging rural citizens to seek information on EU policies and actively participate in decision-making processes, including upcoming national and European Parliament elections in 2024.
The Clubs4Europe project responded to the local needs of the partner organizations to provide learning opportunities to the people living in rural areas on topics related to European identity, civic engagement, and democratic participation. The objective was to achieve informed citizens in zones of difficult access, of aging populations, and where often apathy to the European idea was noted, being the rural people not informed about the real benefits of the common European values and achievements. Our rural adult learners needed to acquire knowledge on civic education, European identity, inclusion, and diversity, in order to become active citizens, fully engaged with the European democratic process, and participate in the decision-making on the future of the Union. The Clubs4Europe project consortium provided opportunities to rural people to meet, learn, debate, and share common ideas and initiatives. The partnership fostered civic involvement of citizens and promoted democratic values by encouraging active citizenship and decision-making, public participation, involvement in local community life, and different European networks. This complied with the selected 2 horizontal and 1 sectorial priorities of the Erasmus+ Programme.