MY RURAL MENTOR
The project aims to develop and transfer intergenerational social mentoring models that improve the wellbeing of vulnerable young people in rural areas of Spain, Portugal and Italy, strengthen community ties, promote inclusion and help counter youth depopulation in the EU.
Territory
Italy, Spain, Portugal
Implementation period
September 2025 – December 2027
Donor
Erasmus+, Spanish National Youth Agency (INJUVE)
Project objective
The project aims to develop and transfer intergenerational social mentoring models that improve the wellbeing of vulnerable young people in rural areas of Spain, Portugal and Italy, strengthen community ties, promote inclusion and help counter youth depopulation in the EU.
Target audience
The project targets:
Young people (14-24 years, gender balanced) living in rural or depopulated areas, in situations of fragility: minors in residential facilities, NEET at risk of social exclusion, young migrants without adult references.
Adults with social roots in the territory and proven mentoring skills.
Activities
The project is based on four concrete and integrated actions:
Selection and training of local mentors: community leaders are identified and trained to support young people through individual and group mentoring, developing skills in communication, empathy, emotional management and intercultural sensitivity.
Triple-level mentoring and youth engagement: individual, group and service-learning projects strengthen social ties, stimulate active participation and promote intercultural skills and active citizenship.
Community needs analysis and co-design: young people participate in workshops on sustainability, culture, sport and local heritage to identify territorial challenges and propose concrete solutions together with local decision-makers and stakeholders.
Creation of a toolkit: evaluation and systematisation of best practices, analysis of project impact data and development of a replicable rural mentoring model, accompanied by guidelines to transfer effective practices to other areas.
Impact
90 participants – Vulnerable young people and adult mentors (30 per country)
150 min. participants – Local communities and rural inhabitants (50 per country)
25 participants – Operators and stakeholders in the training toolkit
>150 participants – Multiplier Events
30 stakeholders – Policy makers and key stakeholders (recommendation reports and transnational webinar)
Partners
INSTITUTO GALEGO DE XESTIÓN PARA O 3º SECTOR (Lead – Spain); ROSTO SOLIDÁRIO – ASSOCIAÇÃO DE DESENVOLVIMENTO SOCIAL E HUMANO (Portugal); Fondazione Comunitária di Agrigento e Trapani (Italy); Outonía Sociedade Cooperativa Galega (Spain); Casa-Escola Agrícola Campo Verde (Portugal); Cooperativa Terraferma (Italy);
Programme
The project (2025-1-ES02-KA220-YOU-000361017) was selected and co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme by the Spanish National Youth Agency (INJUVE) – under Key Action 2 – Cooperation Partnerships in Youth.
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