2011 Rally, Slovenia

2011 Rally, Slovenia - report

European Rally 2011
"Be active – get better opportunities in life by volunteering!"
6-13 August 2011
Ruše, Slovenia

Slovenian Rural Youth Association and Rural Youth Europe hosted the European Rally 2011 in Ruše, Slovenia. The goal was to activate and empower 80 rural young people with skills in social capital. Rural young people from across Europe learnt how personal, interpersonal and intercultural competences can help them to become more active in their communities.

Participants found out that social capital can improve a young person’s social well-being, increase their confidence and promote their job-seeking skills. Becoming more aware of the benefits of social capital helps young people face many of thechallenges found in our rural areas – high levels of social exclusion, low youth participation, lack of employment opportunities and growing poverty. With stronger skills, competences and social capital, rural young people can overcome barriers in rural areas and improve their life opportunities.

Aims:

To raise awareness and to promote importance of social capital and social competences amongst rural young people
To explore the role of social capital and social competences in everyday life
To present the tools to measure and better use social capital and social competences of young people
To find the connection between recognition of informal learning, volunteering, youth employment and active youth participation

The Rally supported and empowered the member organisations of Rural Youth Europe in a positive and constructive way by exploring social capital opportunities in rural areas. The practical exchange of best practices and the generation of new ideas amongst rural youth organisations was a key element of the programme. Throughout the programme rural youth were encouraged to become more aware of the social capital they have, how to access it, and how to utilise it in collaborationwith their creativity, innovative ideas and energy in finding new possibilities for themselves and also for the development of their local communities.

The European Rally 2011 also placed much-needed attention on the value and benefits of volunteering in rural communities. Volunteering was promoted as being a fundamental part ofbeing active in rural areas and raise awareness of its numerous benefits foryoung people as well for local communities, local government and local businesses. The European Rally celebrated and promoted the 2011 European Year of Volunteering.