CORE Output 4.2 - thueringen.deapps.thueringen.de/imperia/md/content/tmbv/landes... · New Opportunities to secure the provision of public services in rural cities and municipalities

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European Territorial Cooperation Objective

CENTRAL EUROPE Programme

EURUFU - European Rural Futures

New Opportunities to secure the provision of public services in rural cities and

municipalities

WP 4 - Testing and evaluating measures

Core Output 4.2.8 - COMBINED TESTING

Priority 4

Area of intervention: 4.2 - Addressing the territorial effects of demographic and social change on

urban and regional development

Start date: 5/2011

End date: 4/2014

Duration: 36 months

This project is implemented through the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme co-financed by the ERDF

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Table of contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................... 2

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 4

1. EURUFU PROJECT .................................................................................................. 5

1.1 Project Aims .......................................................................................................... 5

1.2 Partnership ............................................................................................................ 6

1.3 Pilot Actions .......................................................................................................... 6

2. DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURES IN PIEDMONT, THURINGIA, STYRIA AND BRZEG DOLNY .......................................................................................... 12

3. SOCIAL HOUSING IN RURAL AREAS IN AUSTRIA AND ELVO VALLEY ................ 17

4. ADULT EDUCATION, TRAINING COURSES, LOCAL IDENTITY IN AUSTRIA AND SLOVENIA 21

5. JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN NORTH WEST SLOVENIA AND USTI ............................ 24

6. SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURES AND MOBILITY DEMANDS IN HUNGARY .............. 26

7. PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND NON-MOTORIZED TRANSPORT IN NORTHERN THURINGIA AND AUSTRIA ........................................................................................................................ 28

8. COMMON OBJECTIVES: SOME OF THE PROJECT AREAS SHARE THE SAME PILOT ACTIONS OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................................. 31

8.1 Decrease of the risk of social isolation ................................................................ 34

Development of public social infrastructures ................................................................................................................. 35

Social Housing in rural areas .......................................................................................................................................... 38

Social infrastructures and mobility demands .................................................................................................................. 42

Public transport and non-motorized transport ................................................................................................................. 45

8.2 Decrease of emigration of young and highly skilled people from rural areas ............................................................................................................ 49



Adult education, training courses, local identity ............................................................................................................. 54

8.3 Increase of the investments for public social infrastructure .............................. 60



8.4 New solutions to improve transports services in rural areas .............................. 65





8.5 Public social infrastructures prove more adequate to the new social challenges ..................................................................................................................... 74



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8.6 Focus on young people ........................................................................................ 81



Adult education, training courses, local identity ............................................................................................................. 86

8.7 Guarantee good health services to old people in rural areas.............................. 88



9. OTHER OBJECTIVES PURSUED BY THE EURUFU PROJECT .................................. 93

9.1 Policy makers understand the importance to make the most of the strengths of rural areas 94

9.2 Improvement of the intergenerational learning in rural areas ........................... 94

9.3 The population of rural areas is more informed and involved in the organization of local development actions ..................................................................................................... 95

9.4 Full endorsement of the local potential .............................................................. 96

9.5 Improvement of the skills of unemployed people .............................................. 97

9.6 Improvement of the quality of services ............................................................ 100

9.7 Creation of new job opportunities .................................................................... 100

9.8 Enforcement of the networking between private and public entities and the inter-sector cooperation ................................................................................................................. 101

9.9 Preservation of identity and traditions of rural areas ....................................... 101

10. FINAL COMMENTS ............................................................................................. 102

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Introduction

The main aim of this output is to understand how these 17 pilot actions can practically work

together.

Indeed, all these activities have proved to be good tools for the objectives concerned, and most

of them have already been planned as transferrable to similar contexts. Therefore, in the next

chapters the main areas will be summarized and their objectives will be shortly analyzed, in order

to spot the goals that are common to more than one pilot area and examine the different actions

that have been set up in order to achieve the same objective.

In this way it would be easier choosing the action that suits best one particular area, being aware

of its context and of the aim that has to be reached.

Lastly, also the objectives that do not involve more than one area will be analyzed, in order to

explain some of the ways in which is possible to achieve them.

The main aim is to make it possible for these actions to be implemented also in other territories

that are facing similar challenges to the ones that EURUFU partners have to deal with.

In other words, this is a combination of realization concepts for all pilot actions, whose aim is to

check if and how they can work together and be transferred to other similar areas.

For all the stakeholders (local and regional target groups as municipalities, schools, providers,

health and social care providers, and so on) the combined testing will be very valuable in order to

check the joint effects of the pilot actions.

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1. EURUFU Project

1.1 Project Aims

The EURUFU Project (EUropean RUral FUtures), in the sphere of “Central Europe” European

Programme, launched in May 2011, will be finished by April 2014.

As known, “Central Europe” Programme pursues the following strategic objectives:

- improving competitiveness of Central Europe by strengthening innovation and accessibility

structures;

- improving territorial development in a balanced and sustainable way by enhancing the quality of

the environment and developing attractive cities and regions.

Concerning the Thematic Priority 4 (Enhancing Competitiveness and Attractiveness of Cities and

Regions), EURUFU focused its project proposal and its interventions on the territorial effects of

demographic and social change on rural and regional development (priority 4.2).

In short, EURUFU Project objectives may be summarized as follows:

1.) Raising awareness of stakeholders by creating transparency about the coming challenges

of demographic changes and highlighting the possibilities and opportunities for active

action.

2.) Active framing of Demographic Change in close cooperation between the different partners

and stakeholders (administration, politics, business, schools, associations) in the regions.

3.) Mitigation of population decline and long-term trend reversal.

4.) Adaptation of infrastructure to the negative consequences of the changing population

structure.

5.) Initiation of pilot projects to frame and adapt to demographic change.

6.) Transferring knowledge at European level and initiate a long-term intensive and

continuous dialogue between actors of regional development.

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Even if it’s focused on the aging population issue, which is linked to the on-going socio-

demographic changing in the affected rural areas, the project inevitably crosses other closely

related matters, such as the emigration of new generations, the lack of job opportunities, the

shortage of social and health services, the mobility limits and the decline of economic, social and

cultural development. EURUFU Project suggests solutions, which are partially innovative, in order to

sustain a regeneration and stabilization process in these areas, which are mostly rural, that

endanger a pursuit of their decline, particularly due to the depletion of the energies that can boost

the economic competitiveness and the development of local services.

1.2 Partnership

The project gathers Universities, Development Agencies, Regional Authorities and training Centers

set in the area of Central Europe which are directly or not directly involved in transformation

processes linked to the demographic changing in rural suburban territory:

1. (LP) Thuringian Ministry for Construction, Regional Development and Transport (Germany)

2. (PP2) University of Applied Sciences Erfurt (Germany)

3. (PP3) Ústí Region (Czech Republic)

4. (PP4) Salzburg Institute for Regional Planning and Housing (Austria)

5. (PP6) Central Transdanubian Regional Development Agency, Nonprofit Company (Hungary)

6. (PP7) LAMORO Development Agency (Italy)

7. (PP8) Development Agency Sora d.o.o. (Slovenia)

8. (PP9) Biotechnical Centre Naklo (Slovenia)

9. (PP10) ROW – Regional Management Upper Styria West (Austria)

10. (PP11) Municipality of Brzeg Dolny (Poland)

11. (PP12) ONEP Office for National Economic Planning (Hungary).

1.3 Pilot Actions

EURUFU Pilot Actions intervened on SIX KEY-AREAS, every of which has been associated to a

specific workshop:

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- Public social infrastructure;

- Social housing in rural areas;

- Adult education, training courses and promotion of local identity;

- Job opportunities;

- Social infrastructure, mobility demands;

- Public transport and non-motorized transport.

The objective of these actions, which are individually described in the next chapter, consists of

fighting decline and supporting initiatives that aim to promote a durable sustainable development.

The project itself can’t underlie the development raise, but concretely indicates, through the pilot

actions, supporting strategies, introducing - in the context of international cooperation – good

practices to capitalize, which may become solutions for similar territorial environments as well, also

beyond the territorial sphere of Central Europe.

Pilot actions suggest, in a wide variety of specific contexts where each partner operated,

interventions that are mostly focused on the strengthening of the human resources capacity, health

and social services, but also on the infrastructures and the public means of transportation, the

possibility of conservation or settlement of youngsters and on rural competitiveness development.

There are 17 EURUFU pilot actions:

•••• (LP) THURINGIAN MINISTRY FOR CONSTRUCTION, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORT

(GERMANY)

Title of the Pilot Action (PA):

“Improvement of Ambulant Medical Care in Kyffhaeuser District”

Place: Kyffhaeuser District

•••• (PP2) UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES ERFURT (GERMANY)


“Citizen consultants for mobility“ (Mobilitätsberater) - citizens support fellow citizens

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using public transport

Place: Kyffhäuserkreis, Northern Thuringia / Gotha District (Landkreis)

•••• (PP 3) REGIONAL AUTHORITY OF ÚSTÍ NAD LABEM (CZECH REPUBLIC) - ÚSTÍ REGION


“Language and jobseeker`s competences courses”

Place: Vejprty region, Ustecky Kraj

•••• (PP 4) SALZBURGER INSTITUT FÜR RAUMORDNUNG UND WOHNEN (SIR)/

GEMEINDEENTWICKLUNG SALZBURG


“Summer University”

Place: UNESCO Biosphärenpark Lungau


“Generation village” (Generationendorf)

Place: Salzburg


Shared space - “Begegnungszone” Tamsweg

Place: Several municipalities in Austria, Swiss and Germany

•••• (PP 6) CENTRAL TRANSDANUBIAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (HUNGARY)


“Integration of disabled and young people into cultural life”

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Place: Mór district


“Mobility examination in Mór micro-region”



Feasibility study on "social time card" system and its implementation


•••• (PP 7) LAMORO DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (ITALY)


“Integrated project for urban recovery and development of biological agriculture”

Place: Cirié


“ABITARE - New housing opportunities for young people”

Place: 4 small Municipalities of Elvo Valley (Province of Biella)

•••• (PP 8) DEVELOPMENT AGENCY SORA D.O.O. (SLOVENIA)


“Job opportunities, starting businesses and promotion of local identity in North-West

Slovenia”

Place: Gorenjska, North-West Slovenia

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•••• (PP 9) BIOTECHNICAL CENTRE NAKLO (SLOVENIA)


“Educational program for adults: Developing opportunity – Discovering the potential”

Place: Gorenjska NW of Slovenia

•••• (PP 11) MUNICIPALITY OF BRZEG DOLNY (POLAND)


“Culture, sport and recreation Centre in/around Brzeg Dolny”

Place: Brzeg Dolny, Grodzanow village

•••• (PP 13) ROW – Regionalmanagement Upperstyria West


“Clothes make Stories” (working title “Retirement Home Castle New Teufenbach”)

Place: Municipality of Teufenbach


“Triple I – Individual Innovation Intelligence”

Place: Districts of Murau and Murtal


Symposium “Ripe performance and vital health” (working title: “Burn Out Prevention –

St. Lambrecht”)

Place: Naturpark Zirbitzkogel-Grebenzen

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The pilot actions can be summarized as follows:

Public Social infrastructure 1) Improvement of ambulant medical care in the rural area of

Kyffhaeuser district – LP

3) Culture, sport and recreation center in/around Brzeg Dolny -

PP11

5) Integrated project for urban recovery and development of

biological agriculture - PP7

13) Symposium “Ripe performance and vital health” (working title:

Burn Out Prevention – St. Lambrecht) - PP10

Social housing 2) “Clothes make Stories”, (working title “Retirement Home Castle

New Teufenbach”) - PP10

4) “ABITARE” - New housing opportunities for young people - PP7

11) Generationendorf - PP4

Education

7) PILOT ACTION- EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM for adults:

Developing Opportunity – Discovering the Potential - PP9

9) Summer University - PP4

10) Triple I – Individual Innovation Intelligence - PP10

Job opportunities

12) Job opportunities, starting businesses and promotion of local

identity in North-West Slovenia: Pilot Series of Workshops:

“Discover innovative solutions to sustainable development” - PP8

6) Language and jobseeker`s competences courses - PP3

Social infrastructure, mobility demands 16) Mobility examination in Mór microregion - PP6

14) Feasibility study on "social time card" system and its

implementation - PP6

8) Integration of disabled and young people into cultural life - PP6

Mobility 15) Citizen consultants for mobility (Mobilitätsberater) - citizens

support fellow citizens using public transport - PP2

17) “Begegnungszone” Tamsweg - PP4

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2. Development of Public social infrastructures

in Piedmont, Thuringia, Styria and Brzeg

Dolny

Within the intervention area “Public social infrastructures” four different experimentations have

been implemented:

� “Improvement of ambulant medical care in the rural area of Kyffhaeuser district”, realized by

Lead Partner;

� “Culture, sport and recreation center in/around Brzeg Dolny”, realized by PP11;

� “Integrated project for urban recovery and development of biological agriculture”, realized

by PP7.

� Symposium “Ripe performance and vital health” (working title: Burn our prevention – St.

Lambrecht) realized by PP10.

Demographic change, especially population ageing, has a clear impact on the provision of social

infrastructure. In the same way, social infrastructures are perceived as essential elements to

efficiently fight the negative implications of demographic change in rural areas.

The European Parliament states that demographic change in the EU is a fact and that dealing with

it constitutes one of core tasks for the future; furthermore demographic change affects rural and

urban areas in equal measure with implications for the provision of good infrastructure and services.

Public social infrastructures are one of the key factors to tackle the negative effects of demographic

change: the European Parliament “encourages the regions to use the Structural Funds to help

address demographic challenges and to improve access to social and administrative services,

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including in small and remote towns and villages, by promoting the specific potential of each region

and strengthening the factors that make people want to stay”1.

Nevertheless it is fundamental “to guarantee the conditions that keep people in their own regions,

in order to avoid population concentration in certain urban areas”2.

The territorial contexts in which the three pilot actions have been realized have remarked some

common structural problems:

- the progressive and constant ageing of the population;

- the lack of attractiveness of the rural territory, mainly due to an inadequate and short offer of

services and/or social infrastructures;

- the perception that rural areas have not been able to change and adapt to the needs and to the

social and job expectations of the new generations.

In each of the areas of

experimentation some specific

problems have been identified.

Concerning Kyffhaeuser District

(Germany) an analysis has figured out

that, in the future, the pilot area will

not have enough family doctors and

that, on the contrary, the number of

elderly people will grow (with a

consequent growth in services

demand).

The average age of family doctors is growing too with consequences for their current productivity

as well as for future critical shortages in services supply.

1 European Parliament resolution of 15 November 2011 on demographic change and its consequences for the future cohesion policy of the EU (2010/2157(INI)), (2013/C 153 E/02), par. 14, p. 4. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2013:153E:0009:0015:EN:PDF 2 Ibid. par. 7

1. Landscape of Kyffhaeuser District (Germany)

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Young specializing doctors are not attracted by rural lifestyle: they prefer to choose urban life style

that can offer more opportunities and more variegated services.

In rural areas transport services are inadequate concerning the needs of old people who need

medical assistance. But mobility is also difficult for doctors who work in rural areas. In both cases a

need to find new forms of transport or to improve existent public transport services is felt.

As far as Brzeg Dolny (Poland) is

concerned, it is remarked a problem

concerning the lack of places where to

socialize and fight isolation phenomena

which are typical of rural areas.

Actually, a positive aspect comes up,

which would need adequate tools in

order to stabilize and activate

progressing dynamics. It is remarked

the creation of new village associations:

these associations can apply for external

funds, can create their own heritage

and promote themselves abroad (Brzeg Dolny's town twinning enables them to promote

themselves, their local food and culture). The problem is that these associations and villagers

mostly do not have where to spend their time. While in the past the central government created

social infrastructures (public buildings) where people could meet and spend free time, nowadays

people feel excluded from social life and this fact puts at risk all attempts to revitalize social

dynamics.

In the pre-urban area of Northern Italy the public services seem to be inadequate as regards the

new social challenges: innovative services are lacking and the economic crisis exacerbates an

already serious situation. The ageing of the population causes several problems to the public

institutions, which need innovative solutions. Furthermore, the economic crisis and the progressive

decrease of public investments request the implementation of new development models.

2. Activity within the recreation center in Brzeg Dolny

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In the last years the average number of the

components of families has been decreasing

constantly: today it’s just over two units and

reflects the changes in the social and

demographic situation that affected the

entire country. The changed lifestyles of the

past decades greatly influenced the family

composition: the family is no longer

enlarged and patriarchal, but mononuclear,

with fewer children, and often consists of a

single component, often old and lonely

woman, but also young singles. With the growth of the life expectation it became fundamental to

plan new services that allow the elderly who are alone and still independent to preserve their

housing autonomy, without giving up sociality and a good life quality.

At the same time public entities have to experiment new services that allow the promotion of the

housing autonomy of the youngsters. In the case of the independent old people, it is needed to

preserve as long as possible their housing autonomy; on the other hand, as far as young people are

concerned, it is needed to create the conditions to make them realize a full housing autonomy.

The region “Naturpark” (Styria) is a

very remote and rural area with low

industrialization. The region seems to

be less attractive for young people and

highly skilled people, who are

searching for challenging job

opportunities. As a consequence, the

region is not just suffering from

demographic change but as well from

emigration of young/highly skilled

people (“brain drain”).

3. Old building to re-instate for urban recovery and development of biological agriculture – Cirié (Italy)

4. Burn Out Prevention – St. Lambrecht

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Nevertheless, the region offers a highly attractive landscape, which actually provides with a sound

basis for sustainable tourism. As well, inhabitants do benefit from a relatively high quality of life.

Then, also in this case it seems that the existing potentiality is not being fully optimized.

From the analysis of the pilot actions appears that in all the cases all the stakeholders have been

listened for the definition of problems, objectives and strategies.

The bottom-up approach proved to be crucial for the implementation of the pilot actions. This

allowed the involvement of several stakeholders into the decision-making process, public institutions

as well as private bodies. The local and regional stakeholders helped to define the analysis of the

problems. Then ‘negative situations’ of the problems have been converted into solutions, expressed

as ‘positive achievements’3.

The objectives remarked consulting the stakeholders can be summarized as follows:

• The risk of social isolation is decreased.

• The emigration of young and highly skilled people from rural areas is decreased.

• The investments for public social infrastructure are increased.

• Policy makers understand the importance to make the most of the strengths of rural areas.

• New solutions to improve transports services in rural areas are adopted.

• Young people show themselves more attracted by rural life style.

• Public social infrastructures prove more adequate to the new social challenges.

• Good health services are guaranteed to old people in rural areas.

3 Aid Delivery Methods, Volume 1 PCM Guidelines, March 2004, p. 69

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3. Social housing in rural areas in Austria and

Elvo Valley

This intervention area includes three pilot projects:

� “Clothes make Stories” (working title “Retirement Home Castle New Teufenbach”) realized

by PP10;

� “ABITARE” - New housing opportunities for young people realized by PP7;

� “Generationendorf” realized by PP4.

The problems which are remarked and the identified strategies are coherent with what has been

stated by the European Parliament. The European Parliament states indeed as follows: the

European parliament “advocates that loans with low interest rates which could support the

adaptation of housing to the needs of the elderly could be given priority under the ERDF; proposes

offering the opportunity for financial resources to be provided under certain conditions for sheltered

housing complexes and multi-generational housing, with a view to preventing the isolation of the

elderly and harnessing their creative potential, in order to guarantee a better quality of life for an

ageing society”4.

The municipality of Teufenbach (Upper Styria) can be described as a rural area with some

industrialization. It suffers from low and even further declining birthrates, emigration of young,

skilled, and highly-skilled people. Besides, the amount of elderly and very old people living within

the municipality is increasing. Another structural problem that is remarked is the lack of interaction

between generations: intergenerational dialogue turns out to be difficult, and the institutions do not

have the necessary tools and skills to implement the intergenerational exchange and learning. The

specific problem that is analyzed in details in the preparation phase is the life quality of elderly and

very old people. An opportunity is highlighted: the public entity (the municipality) invested in a 4 Ibid. par. 21, p. 5

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specific infrastructure. In fact the municipality’s retirement home “Schloss Neuteufenbach” offers

appropriate services and very attractive housing facilities for elderly and very old people. The

retirement home is surrounded by a very attractive landscape including parks and outdoor facilities,

which should increase the living-standard of its residents. Furthermore the municipality did establish

various network-contacts to institutions of higher education and arts, which are located in urban

areas like Graz and Vienna.

Starting from these elements that

constitute clear opportunities within

a SWOT analysis, the specific

problem on which pilot project

actions should be built is the need of

strengthening the capacity building

regarding social and health care

related services for elderly and very

old people.

In Elvo Valley (Northern Italy) the demographic trend of the rural area is characterized by

population decline, aging of the population and decrease in younger age groups. The area suffers of

a progressive depopulation: some villages

have been strongly damaged and risk to

become “ghosts” villages. And in the coming

years there will be a further decline of

population in the age group of 25-39 years: in

fact there is a declining birth rate in the 80’s

with the consequent decrease in the current

age of the young people in the age group of

30 years. Unfortunately, a further decline in

births is to be expected. A progressive and

steady ageing of the population is registered:

there is significant old age index (for every young person there are more than 2 elderly).

5. “Clothes make Stories” working group

6. Landscape in Elvo Valley (Northern Italy)

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During the analysis phase wide relevance has been given to the listening of two main stakeholders:

young people and local policy makers. Youngsters of the valley gathered in an Association active in

the field of promotion of initiatives of local development concerning several themes: culture,

training, active job policies. During some meetings the concern for young people’s housing

autonomy emerged. Young people complain about a difficulty in implementing the housing

autonomy: a policy that offers to the youth concrete opportunities, and that fights depopulation in

rural areas by younger generations is felt as needed. The “multi-generational housing”5 whished for

by the European Parliament is one of the objectives pursued by the pilot action on the territory.

Also in Salzburg region a serious

problem of ageing of population is

observed. In the areas that suffer from

ageing population, a growing

phenomenon of isolation of old people

from other age classes is remarked.

This is not an open contrast, but, on

the contrary, just indifference and lack

of dialogue, of attention on one

another and of interaction among

generation groups, that do not

communicate with one another and therefore fee more and more different and distant.

It is within this context that the promotion of activities which are supposed to approach the

generations to one another could contribute to reactivate the sense of community. And it is on this

sense of community that it is possible to build a solidarity spirit that contributes to improve

everybody’s life.

The objectives can be summarized as follows:


5 Ibid. Par. 21, p. 5

7. Biosphärenparkzentrum - “Generation village”

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• Intergenerational learning in rural areas is improved.

• Capacity building regarding social and healthcare related services for elderly and very old

people is increased.

• Autonomy of young people is strengthened.

• The risk of social isolation (especially for old people) is decreased.

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4. Adult education, training courses, local

identity in Austria and Slovenia


� “Developing opportunity – Discovering the potential” realized by PP9;

� “Summer university”, realized by PP4;

� “Triple I – Individual Innovation Intelligence”, realized by PP10.

The main problem that is remarked is the lack of collaboration nets among institutions that prove

themselves to be able to foster sustainable development and job mechanisms in a medium and long

run. The educational institutions and the stakeholders involved in job market policies need support

for the introduction of “social innovation” measures in the educational sector and in the economic

sector. The educational supply, based on “tailor-made” approaches, must enhance the individual’s

creative potential, employability, and the economic competitiveness and social attractiveness of the

rural areas. On the background remain the structural problems of the area: emigration of young

population from rural areas and risk of social exclusion.

The BC Naklo (PP9) has been recognized as

one of the main “generator” of the

development in the Gorenjska region (North-

West Slovenia) with an important synergy

effect not only in the field of education, but

also in joint action of economy, employment,

scientific and agricultural sector. This is an

opportunity that must be enhanced and

transformed in strength. In a bottom-up

perspective, stakeholders and external expert

were invited to define the contents and core

8. Institution Biotechnical Centre Naklo (North-West Slovenia)

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competencies (for potential providers of services in rural area) to include them into the educational

program “Developing opportunity – Discovering the potential” (Pilot Action).

The analysis of the context has been made in order to get more concrete ideas for the content of

the Educational program: anonymous questionnaire was developed and sent to BC Naklo school

staff (teachers, lecturers of secondary school and higher vocational college), development agencies,

Employment Centre, Agricultural advisory service Gorenjska and external experts (fields: education,

tourism, economy, renewable sources of energy, agriculture, rural development, practice). Through

questions they tried to explain what is the reason for emigration of young population from rural

areas and how this can be reduced and what kind of knowledge and competences are needed to

enable individuals for more social inclusion and active participation in development of rural

environment. Final contents were defined and educational program covers areas as sustainable

development, entrepreneurship, organic, green economy projects, local characteristics, legislation

and preservation of cultural and natural heritage. Educational program gave concrete opportunity to

participant to acquire the skills and competences required for the self employment, re-employment

or first job seekers - “multi skilled work force”, capable of moving with the times and reacting to the

concrete local / regional / national / EU demands.

Lungau is a region in the south east of Salzburg region. Also in this case it has been remarked an

opportunity from which it is possible to start with the project of the development initiatives: Lungau

is the biggest UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Austria and this is a starting point to develop solution-

based concepts in the interests of the biosphere reserve ideas.

Demographic statistics shows a population

decrease of young and highly skilled

people. At the same time, the older

population increases. The fact that young

talents progressively leave the region is

perceived as a great threat for the future

development of the area. Young people

need to be more involved in the

organization of the local development

9. All the participants, trainers and lecturers of the summer university – Lungau (Austria)

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actions. The Summer University is indeed a chance offered to students in order to develop concepts

and projects to “stop the rural emigration”.

The region Upper Styria West shows a population

decrease of -2,1% since 2004. Projections indicate

further population decrease, a significantly rising

number of elderly people, as well as decreasing

numbers of young and highly skilled people. Thus,

demographic change and its effects are considered

to be major challenges that the region has to

overcome in order to secure social and economic

vitality for future generations.

Concerning this, the region’s mission statement does take demographic change as one major

challenge into consideration. The intention is to combine strength from public and private sectors in

order to adapt to predictable change by initiating and supporting social innovation.

The remarked objectives can be summarized as follows:

• New solutions to improve transports services from rural areas to main cities are adopted.


• New generations are more involved in the organization of local development actions.

• The population of rural areas is more informed and involved in the organization of local

development actions.

• Local potential is fully endorsed.

10. Activity within “Triple I – Individual Innovation Intelligence”

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5. Job opportunities in North West Slovenia and

Usti

This intervention area includes two pilot projects:

� Job opportunities, starting businesses and promotion of local identity in North-West

Slovenia. Series of workshops: “Discover innovative solutions to sustainable development”

realized by PP8;

� “Language and jobseeker’s competences courses” realized by PP3.

Gorenjska region (North-West Slovenia) has attractive landscapes, preserved cultural heritage and

has good infrastructure which enables the development of the region. The remarked opportunities

are several: in fact from the analysis of statistical data we find out interesting trends such as the

growth of specific sectors of the local economy. The new trends (and opportunities) are: health

awareness, sports activities, importance of renewable energy, local high quality food. But on the

other hand many serious problems emerge: the lack of available jobs, structural mobility problems

in reaching big centers from rural areas and the emigration of young people from rural areas.

The main concern appears to be creating a new

attitude that would allow to strengthen the

organization of coordinated events of development

of the territory potentialities: the suggested

strategy is to abandon isolated interventions in

favor of a joint organization in a medium and long

run, in order to re-activate the endogenous

resources of rural areas.

Sustainable development is a pattern of growth in which resource use aims to meet human needs

while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also

11. Landscape of Gorenjska region (North-West Slovenia) - Author: Jana Jocif

25

for generations to come (sometimes taught as ELF-Environment, Local people, Future). Sustainable

development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural systems with the social

challenges facing humanity. The field of sustainable development can be conceptually broken into

three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic and sociopolitical sustainability.

The Vejprty region is a peripheral and

mountainous area in Usti region. The problems

are particularly challenging: the accessibility to

regional and national centers is difficult,

services are few and job opportunities are also

missing. Anyway the cost of living is high and

as a result of emigration of young people there

is a progressive ageing of population.

Rural areas are isolated, the local agriculture

production is scarcely competitive and also

local industry is declining. The quality of life is deteriorating also as a result of reduction of public

services. Also in this case the area opportunities are highlighted: cross-border cooperation (with

Germany) and tourism development. To remove borders as physical obstacle to movement of

people, goods and services seems to be an opportunity for young people to find good job

opportunities in rural areas. And to serve cross-border clients can be an opportunity also for the

touristic development of the region.

The objectives can be summarized as follows:

• The skills of unemployed people are improved.

• The quality of services is improved.

• Knowledge to find job opportunities in local area.

• The networking between private and public entities and the inter-sector cooperation are

enforced.

12. Landscape of the Vejprty region (Czech Republic)

26

6. Social infrastructures and mobility demands

in Hungary


� “Mobility examination in Mór micro-region” realized by PP6;

� “Feasibility study on "social time card" system and its implementation” realized by PP6;

� “Integration of disabled and young people into cultural life” realized by PP6.

The pilot actions have been realized in Mór district (Hungary). The pilot area is described as a

rural region that, after decades of strong changes, has to focus again the needs of the citizens in

order to be able to re-think and improve the services offered by the Public Entity on a local and

central level. Therefore, the problem of Public Social Infrastructures is faced as key element to

improve the life quality inside rural areas. The strategic assets on which it is needed to focus to

improve life quality of the citizens are the mobility and the social inclusion.

The stakeholder workshops in pilot site delivered some important inputs on the traffic conditions

of the district. Although between the center of the area Mór and neighbor towns (Székesfehérvár,

Győr, Tatabánya and the capital Budapest) public transport opportunities are satisfying, it requires

further analysis how the public transport system should be more effectively organized on district

level and with the neighbor areas and how the accessibility of the region should be enhanced.

Therefore, the problem to deal with concerns the role of the public entity in order to improve the

transportation net and the mobility in rural areas where small municipalities are not well

connected and where an important railway line (the Székesfehérvár – Mór – Komárom rail line)

has almost stopped operating.

Concerning social inclusion, one gap is the lack of voluntary services in the region. The main issue

related to this was that volunteer activities are not appreciated enough in the area; on the other

hand, the number of places to volunteer is also limited. Volunteer opportunities, however, could

be for the benefit of the community, especially in social care. Voluntary work is therefore seen as

27

a key element that fosters social inclusion. At a local level it is then remarked a criticality

concerning the integration of disabled people. One of the main problems is the lack of recognition

of the need for social inclusion of people with disabilities. It has been noticed that disabled people

are being treated differently by the society and they often face different forms of marginalization.

In order to tackle social exclusion and better integrate them, these disadvantaged groups need

more support and better awareness of their social needs.

The workshops also highlighted the importance of revival and preservation of ethnic German

(Swabian) customs and traditions in the area since the main ethnic minority in Mór and its

surroundings are Germans. Preserving ethnic character of the area and identity of people of

German ethnic origin are important factors in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing

globalization. Although there are many tradition-preserving actors operating in the region and many

events/ activities are being organized related to German traditions year to year, younger generation

is much less involved and interested in such kind of activities.

The considered objectives are:


• The investments for public social infrastructure are increased.

• New solutions to improve mobility in rural areas are considered.


• Identity and traditions of rural areas are preserved.

28

7. Public transport and non-motorized transport

in Northern Thuringia and Austria

This intervention area includes two pilot projects:

� Citizen consultants for mobility (Mobilitätsberater) - Citizens help fellow citizens using public

transport realized by PP2;

� Shared space – “Begegnungszone” Tamsweg realized by PP4.

The pilot actions have been realized in the region of Northern Thuringia and in Austria. The faced

problem is the lack of attention, which has been remarked in rural areas and small municipalities,

concerning the weakest population groups in relation to their mobility and their chance to maintain

their transportation autonomy.

It is very likely that people face the risk of becoming less mobile when they age and cannot use

their car, which they might have used all life, any more. Especially in rural surroundings they can

find themselves in a very problematic situation if there is no social network around that can

substitute their car driver skills and bring them to necessary services like doctors and shopping, but

also to maintain social activities like visiting friends etc. and thus remain socially included. In other

words, their options for an autonomous lifestyle and social participation decrease.

This problem is worsened if they do not know how to stay mobile using the existing public transport

services, how to buy the best suiting ticket at the often complicated ticket machines, how to find

the best connection from A to B, or e.g. they do not know if they can enter a bus easily also when

having a mobility impairment due to their age.

On the other hand, very often the public transport provision in rural areas is endangered by a

shrinking number of regular users and often only maintained by public funding to secure the

carriage of pupils to schools.

Nevertheless, the growing number of elderly and less mobile people represents a big target group

for adequate public transport offers particularly in rural areas (provided the services are well usable

29

and suitable for the older users in terms of barrier free infrastructure and cars, information etc.).

Also it should be aimed that less people use cars in order to reduce pollution and environmental

damages.

During a planning workshop at the

beginning of the pilot project

development phase with regional

stakeholders and especially invited

representatives of senior organizations

from the project region it was stated

clearly that the ticket machines of the

regional railway at the stops represent

a major challenge and barrier for

many older people.

Therefore special focus was laid on

this aspect in the organization of the pilot project.

Especially in rural areas and in small towns the mobility of pedestrians, cyclists and disabled people

is very difficult. Also too much priority has been given to the individual motorized traffic (car, truck)

during the last decades. City and village centers don´t have a adequate design of public space

(squares, streets). So, in small centers the social value of spaces and their functions is not

endorsed.

It is generally recommended to develop shared

space concepts with the help of a participatory

process. This supports the purposes of creating a

new designed cohesion of a social space

municipality concerned. There are no predefined

standard processes as a participatory method for

shared space concepts to be settled.

The ideal procedure is a planning and

implementation process as a linear Process.

13. Volunteers helping old people with the tickets machines within the project Citizen consultants for mobility (Mobilitätsberater)

14. Shared Space (Begegnungszone)

30

In practice, these processes are often non-linear. Ideas are taken up and discarded later, then

reprocessed again and realized. The individual phases must be seen individually for each

community.

The remarked objectives are the following:


• New solutions to improve mobility in rural areas are considered.


31

8. Common objectives: Some of the project

areas share the same pilot actions objectives

Some of the pilot actions objectives listed above in each section are common to more than one

working area.

In order to analyze properly all the actions that could be undertaken to achieve each goal, we can

highlight the common objectives through the following graphic:

The risk of social isolation is decreased

The emigration of young

and highly skilled people

from rural areas is

decreased The investments for

public social

infrastructure are

increased

New solutions to improve

transport services in rural

areas are adopted Focus on

young people

Public social

infrastructures prove

more adequate to the

new social challenges

Good health services are guaranteed to old people in rural areas

COMMON OBJECTIVES

32

So, the main common objectives that have been pursued by more than one EURUFU pilot

action are:

• The risk of social isolation is decreased:

o Development of public social infrastructures in Piedmont, Thuringia, Styria and Brzeg

Dolny;

o Social Housing in rural areas in Austria and Elvo Valley;

o Social infrastructures and mobility demands in Hungary;

o Public transport and non-motorized transport in Northern Thuringia and Austria;

• The emigration of young and highly skilled people from rural areas is decreased:


Dolny;

o Social Housing in rural areas in Austria and Elvo Valley;

o Adult education, training courses, local identity in Austria and Slovenia;

• The investments for public social infrastructure are increased:


Dolny;


• New solutions to improve transports services in rural areas are adopted:


Dolny;

o Adult education, training courses, local identity in Austria and Slovenia;



• Focus on young people:

o They show themselves more attracted by rural life style: Development of public

33

social infrastructures in Piedmont, Thuringia, Styria and Brzeg Dolny;

o Their autonomy is strengthened: Social Housing in rural areas in Austria and Elvo

Valley;

o New generations are more involved in the organization of local development actions:

Adult education, training courses, local identity in Austria and Slovenia;

• Public social infrastructures prove more adequate to the new social challenges:


Dolny;



• Good health services are guaranteed to old people in rural areas:


Dolny;

o Capacity building regarding social and healthcare related services for elderly and very

old people is increased: Social Housing in rural areas in Austria and Elvo Valley.

34

8.1 Decrease of the risk of social isolation

The fields on which it is advisable operating in order to decrease the risk of social isolation of a

rural area are:

• Development of public social infrastructures (as it has been done in Piedmont, Thuringia,

Styria and Brzeg Dolny);

• Social Housing in rural areas (as in Austria and Elvo Valley);

• Social infrastructures and mobility demands (as in Hungary);

• Public transport and non-motorized transport (as in Northern Thuringia and Austria).


COMMON OBJECTIVES

Development of public social infrastructures

Social Housing in rural areas

Social infrastructures and mobility demands

Public transport and non-motorized transport

35


The best approaches that have been remarked in the field of public social infrastructures to make

the risk of social isolation decrease are:

� Improving the ambulant medical care service in rural areas;

� Creating specific centers where the inhabitants could socialize;

� Services for “burn-out and stress-prevention”.

8.1.1.1 Improving the ambulant medical care service in rural areas

It has been proved indeed that the risk of social isolation decreases if medical care for immobile

patients is improved and a reasonable accessibility to the doctors is guaranteed, preserving in this

way the life quality for citizens of all age classes and guaranteeing viability and attractiveness of

the region.


COMMON OBJECTIVES





36

In order to do that, the key-activities remarked within EURUFU Project have been:

- a course for doctor assistants, held with the logistic collaboration of regional administrations;

- an accessibility study, necessary in order to deepen the analysis of the appropriate solutions which

are supposed to improve the patients’ access to doctors.

Other suggested initiatives might be:

- installing a hand over coach for family doctors’ surgeries (helping old doctors to find a successor);

- arranging medicine students’ work placements in rural located family doctor’s surgeries.

8.1.1.2 Creating specific centers where the inhabitants could socialize

The risk of social isolation decreases also with the creation of specific centers built with the

purpose of helping people to gather and interact with one another.

In order to do that it is necessary to:

- collect expectations expressed by the

municipality inhabitants themselves concerning

this topic, through questionnaires and/or

during workshops, in order to gather area

revitalization ideas;

- re-instate an old building if possible, or build

a new one, following the ideas previously

collected among the population;

- conduct a feasibility study for the recovering

of this existing building and for the creation of

a common area where people can socialize.

15. Culture, sport and recreation Centre in Brzeg Dolny

37

8.1.1.3 Services for “burn-out and stress-prevention”

The risk of social isolation decreases as well strengthening the awareness regarding social and

health-care related needs of the European population, that actually do cause a growing market

demand regarding appropriate services for “burn-out and stress-prevention”.

So, there is the need to create new and improve already existing health-care services.

Therefore, it is necessary:

- communication and coordination with main interest-groups, project-partners, companies, NGOs

and municipalities in order to spread the initial idea, drew interest, collect feedback, and ground

the idea;

- a comprehensive strategic and business planning in order to draft a start-up plan for a “Region

of Competence for Burn-Out- and Stress-Prevention” (including concept, support services for

SMEs and start-ups, shareholder, management, partner, market, strategy, marketing, project

planning, timeline, cost, financing, etc.);

- preparation and implementation of the project;

- evaluation of results and tracking of lessons learned.

Through these activities, it is possible to:

- re-position the region as “Region of Competence for Burn-Out and Stress Prevention”;

- designing and realizing regional events;

- encouraging SMEs and start-ups to create new and improve existing services in the context of

“social and health care / stress and burn-out prevention”.

38


The best approaches that have been remarked in the field of Social Housing in rural areas to

make the risk of social isolation decrease are:

� Inventing new services addressing elderly people.

� Promoting new housing opportunities for young people.

� Promoting mutual understanding and dialogue between generations.

8.1.1.4 Inventing new services addressing elderly people

The activities that should be carried out include services to support the pilot-implementation,

funding, and the transfer of the newly invented service addressing elderly and very old people.


COMMON OBJECTIVES





39

Services to support the implementation and funding of the newly invented service

- communication and coordination with main interest-groups and project-partners in order to draft a

sound plan for project implementation and evaluation;

- PR and marketing related activities in order increase public interest and the raise awareness

regarding challenges of demographic change;

- project and financial planning;

- filing an application for funding.

Services to support the transfer of the newly invented service

Once the newly invented service will have been piloted successfully, transfer activities should start.

- public relation in order to spread project information and results;

- communication and coordination with further retirement homes within the region “Upper Styria

West”.

Achieved results should include:

- implementation of a public art and fashion

show and reading sessions together with

elderly and very old people;

- achievement of a funding approval;

- transfer of the newly invented service into

one retirement home within the region.

8.1.1.5 Promoting new housing opportunities for young people

To fight the gradual depopulation of the area and therefore the social isolation remarked in it, a

good approach could be keeping young people in the rural areas.

In order to do that, it is essential to offer them the opportunity to support a rewarding personal

and working life. And the housing autonomy is a key index for a good life quality. Furthermore it’s

16. “Clothes make Stories”

40

important to develop the issue of participation of young generation to the architectural

characterization of rural locations.

Therefore, it is necessary to deal with all the difficulties that young people have to “settle down”

with particular regard to housing policies which are able to fight the depopulation of the rural

areas:

- promoting the housing autonomy of young people living in rural areas;

- providing new opportunities for young people in order to convince them to remain on the

territory;

- finding innovative solutions in the field of housing policies to promote the empowerment and the

autonomy of young people;

- creating a place for discussion, collaboration and joint planning among young people and the

various stakeholders;

- identifying innovative architectural solution to promote the autonomy of young people in terms

of housing.

In order to do that, a few actions should be carried out:

- stakeholders meetings in order to address and find solutions to the housing issue (Professional

Orders, public bodies...);

- implementation of local meetings in order to facilitate and promote the participation of young

people into professional Orders;

- to find ways to simplify the bureaucracy with unique models for the municipalities;

- a local “agreement” to promote the housing autonomy of young people;

- innovative packages of discounts, like e.g. subsidies, tax exemptions to promote the autonomy of

young people in terms of housing;

- to create an information point maybe in the province that gives the main indications on the project

and through face and vehicle information;

- to provide a census of housing that have to be renovated or sold;

- an innovative architectural solution based on small and cheep studios for a sustainable housing

policy (old buildings are normally characterized by the presence and availability of big apartments,

41

too expensive and not sustainable for those needs envisaged by young people). Infrastructural

intervention aiming to divide big apartments into small studios has been planned.

- an agreement by interested stakeholders to facilitate housing autonomy of young people in the

rural communities;

- the identification of concrete measures to facilitate the housing autonomy of young people

(concessions, exemptions, tax exemptions, incentives, orientation...);

- the active participation of young people and citizenship in initiatives taken for the revitalization of

rural areas;

- the creation of conditions conducive to the needs of young people, in order to induce them to

remain in rural areas;

- the definition of new architectural elements that setting out the membership of young people in

the rural community of reference.

8.1.1.6 Promoting mutual understanding and dialogue between generations

Then, to prevent social isolation, a good

approach to pursue could be promoting

mutual understanding and dialogue between

generations.

So, it is necessary to:

- encourage intergenerational communication

and interaction

- support the local generations

- create a “generation platform”

- build a common area where to interact

- foster a new communication culture

In order to do that, some activity should be carried out, involving different age groups and

encouraging them to interact with one another, i.e. joint games afternoons for young and old, co-

operation between kindergartens and homes for seniors, shared cooking days, advent windows.

17. Chair installation for interaction and intercommunication

42


The best approaches that have been remarked in the field of social infrastructures and mobility

demand to make the risk of social isolation decrease are:

� Mobility examination to contribute to the solution of the transportation problems;

� Feasibility study on "social time card" system and its implementation;

� Integration of disabled and young people into cultural life.

8.1.1.7 Mobility examination to contribute to the solution of the transportation problems

In order to avoid social exclusion, it is fundamental to find a solution concerning the

transportation problems of the area and, therefore, to conduct a research (through personal

interviews and surveys) on mobility demands of the territory and district specific

recommendations on ways to effectively organize public transport system in the area.

Then, on the basis of the answers, arrangements should be made. For example, if the majority of

people travels by car, it means that there is a lack of other options. Usually most people use


COMMON OBJECTIVES





43

transportation means to manage official issues, access hospitals and medical attendance. The bus

transportation along the main road is acceptable, but between the most isolated villages the

access to public transportation is quite poor, since it is not developed enough. In most of the

cases bus service is reachable only in frequency of some hours. It would be suitable for the

inhabitants to have bus services more frequently and to have the schedule adjusted for their

individual needs. Also rail transportation is usually very underdeveloped in rural regions.

By the formation and developing of the alternative modes of travel, the transportation could be

more efficient and faster. In this sense, the main solutions could be the extending of the telework

network, the building of bicycle path, and developing carpooling service.

8.1.1.8 Feasibility study on "social time card" system and its implementation

To decrease the risk of social exclusion, it is also advisable to indirectly promote social

volunteerism in the region by analyzing the current situation regarding volunteering services.

Therefore, a feasibility study on both supply and demand side of social volunteerism and

recommendations for the possible introduction of the “social time card” system should be made.

So, on one hand, the district’s non-profit and social organizations and the legal background of

volunteerism in the region should be examined by a research organization examined; on the other

hand, experts should collect data on volunteering habits by representative sample of adult

population. This study can highlight the different challenges that have to be faced, whose

examples of some factors might be:

- mismatch between the expectations of volunteers and what host organizations can offer;

- unsustainable funding;

- underdeveloped infrastructure;

- lack of volunteer coordination at local and social organizational level.

However, also some opportunities for volunteering program might be identified:

- increased interest for volunteering among the young generation;

- corporate social responsibility;

- improved information on volunteering for the public and host organizations by setting up of a

volunteer point;

- volunteer management.

44

8.1.1.9 Integration of disabled and young people into cultural life – Interactive events for children

Also setting up the integration of disabled and young people into cultural life revealed to be a

good strategy to fight social isolation. Indeed, a solution might be to make the cultural offer for

disabled and the youth more vividly in the area, also involving as many local actors in the

implementation as possible.

So, an activity that should be set up in this sense is the organization of interactive events for

children aiming to strengthen local identity and social inclusion of people with disabilities.

Some of the interactive events targeted at local schoolchildren and families could be:

- Family Day;

- dialogues between people with disabilities and pupils in schools;

- Sport Day for schoolchildren and people with disabilities;

- interactive lessons on local history presented by local citizens in schools.

45


The best approaches that have been remarked in the field of public transport and non-motorized

transport to make the risk of social isolation decrease are:

� Citizen consultants for mobility (citizens help fellow citizens using public transport);

� Shared space.

8.1.1.10 Citizen consultants for mobility

As we said before, it is very likely that people face the risk of becoming less mobile when they

age and cannot use any more their car, which they might have used all life. Especially in rural

surroundings they can find themselves in a very problematic situation if there is no social network

around that can substitute their car driver skills and bring them to necessary services like the

doctor, to shopping, but also to maintain social activities like to visit friends etc. and thus remain


COMMON OBJECTIVES





46

socially included. In other words, their options for an autonomous lifestyle and social participation

decrease. This problem is worsened if they do not know how to stay mobile using the existing

public transport services, how to buy the best suiting ticket at the often complicated ticket

machines, how to find the best connection from A to B, or e.g. they do not know if they can enter

a bus easily also when having a mobility impairment due to their age.




Nevertheless, the growing number of elderly and less mobile persons represents a big target

group for adequate public transport offers particularly in rural areas (provided the services are

well usable and suitable for the older users in terms of barrier free infrastructure and cars,

information etc.).

Therefore, helping these people out is a good strategy to fight social isolation.

The action should start with a planning workshop with regional stakeholders and especially invited

representatives of senior organizations. One of the main problems remarked concerning old

people is that the ticket machines of the regional railway at the stops represent a major challenge

and barrier for them. Therefore, these burdens should be lowered and the access to public

transport should be eased.

The activities that might be conducted in this sense are:

- search for and orientation on

established and successful projects for

example from neighbor countries and

regions;

- search for citizens to “train” to

volunteer as mobility consultant (senior

citizens, experienced PT-users etc.);

- involvement of local/regional actors for

training, information (transport

companies, administration, tourism, etc.); 18. Bus stops in Northern Thuringia

47

- regional workshops / information events;

- presentation of the action concept;

- content related event and discussions;

- training session for the volunteers;

- organization of central places for personal attendance of users in the region, and in each an

installation of telephone hotline with local number;

- implementation of a testing phase;

- news coverage to inform about the project and promote the service (regional newspapers,

interview with the regional radio);

- monitoring and mid-term-analysis of the pilot action to identify and discuss options for

improvement, success factors for a permanent installation of the service and for a transferability

to other regions;

- development of training modules (power point presentations for different topics like reading the

bus timetable, using the ticket machine at train stations etc.)

- on-going publishing of articles in regional newspapers, magazine of the regional train and poster

in the public space to inform about the service;

8.1.1.11 Shared space

The last suitable strategy that has been remarked within the project concerning the area of public

transport and non-motorized transport to reduce the risk of social isolation is to operate in order

to reduce road accidents, to foster the quality of life of the inhabitants and to encourage the

volume of sales for the shops located near the shared space zones due to a higher rate of

pedestrians. This would contribute to calming the public streets in the centre of the municipalities,

enhancing a better coexistence of all road users and therefore to decreasing the risk of social

isolation.

Actions that should be taken comprehend:

- to cross the road extensively through vanishing the crosswalks;

- to promote barrier free curb side;

- to narrow optically the roadway;

- to uniform the coloration;

48

- to create in line parking of the sidewalk.

It is generally recommended to develop shared space concepts with the help of a participatory

process. This supports the purposes of creating a new designed cohesion of a social space

municipality concerned. There are no predefined standard processes as a participatory method for

shared space concepts to be settled. The ideal procedure is a planning and implementation

process as a linear process. In practice, these processes are often non-linear. Ideas are taken up

and discarded later, then reprocessed again and realized. The individual phases must be seen

individually for each community.

The first phase should provide a basis for participatory process of a transportation planning

agency and an architectural firm. The Traffic analysis should determine the traffic and track the

daily exposure in the entire municipality, critical frequency points for a pedestrian included. The

plan would then include all the details of the road cross-section, recorded through a site visit

during which they may also be photographed and then added to the plan.

49

8.2 Decrease of emigration of young and highly skilled people

from rural areas

The fields on which is advisable operating in order to decrease the emigration of young and highly

skilled people from rural areas are:



• Social Housing in rural areas (as in Austria and Elvo Valley);

• Adult education, training courses, local identity (as in Austria and Slovenia).



from rural areas is

decreased

COMMON OBJECTIVES



Adult education, training courses, local identity

50


The best approaches that have been remarked in the field of development of public social

infrastructures to make the emigration of young and highly skilled people from rural areas

decrease are:





One of the possible strategies to decrease the risk of emigration of young and highly skilled

people from rural areas is improving medical care for immobile patients and guarantee a

reasonable accessibility to the doctors, preserving in this way the life quality for citizens of all age

classes and guaranteeing viability and attractiveness of the region.



from rural areas is

decreased

COMMON OBJECTIVES




51

Activities and strategies in this field have already been explained in the previous section.


The risk of youth emigration decreases also with the creation of specific centers built with the

purpose of helping people to gather and interact with one another, making them feel part of the

society and reducing their desire to leave the area.



The risk of emigration of young and high skilled people decreases as well strengthening the

awareness regarding social and health-care related needs of the European population, that

actually do cause a growing market demand regarding appropriate services for “burn-out and

stress-prevention”.

So, there is the need to create new and improve already existing health-care services, in order to

make the environment more pleasant to live in.



52



make the emigration of young and highly skilled people from rural areas decrease are:





If young people have the perspective of aging in a comfortable area, they are clearly less likely to

leave it. Therefore, Inventing new services addressing elderly people could also be a way to

decrease young and highly skilled people emigration from rural areas. As explained before, the

activities that should be carried out include services to support the pilot-implementation, funding,

and the transfer of the newly invented service addressing elderly and very old people.



from rural areas is

decreased

COMMON OBJECTIVES




53


To fight the gradual depopulation of the area and therefore the emigration of young and highly

skilled people from the territory, a way should be found to keep young people in the rural areas.

In order to do that, as explained in the previous section, it is essential to offer them the

opportunity to support a rewarding personal and working life. And the housing autonomy is a key

index for a good life quality. Furthermore it’s important to develop the issue of participation of

young generation to the architectural characterization of rural locations.



Then, to prevent youth emigration, a good approach to pursue could be promoting mutual

understanding and dialogue between generations.

Again, activities and strategies in this field have already been explained in the previous section.

20. Chair installation

54


The best approaches that have been remarked in the field of adult education, training courses,

local identity to make the emigration of young and highly skilled people from rural areas decrease

are:

� Developing opportunity and discovering the potential;

� “Summer university”;

� “Triple I – Individual Innovation Intelligence”.

8.2.1.7 Developing opportunity and discovering the potential

If youngsters have an active role in the local development actions and are well aware of the

situation of their own area, they are supposed to be less likely to leave it. Therefore, the basic

aim of a training program should be to offer the inhabitants of the rural areas the possibility to



from rural areas is

decreased

COMMON OBJECTIVES




55

get systematically acquainted with contents enabling them to take an active role in activities and

services leading to the development of rural areas as follows:

- greater motivation of the already registered suppliers, unemployed and other inhabitants of the

rural areas interested in self-employment or performing additional activities,

- activation of the young for additional training and management of different activities or services

in rural areas,

- creating additional income in rural areas with the existing local potential,

- strengthening the possibility for marketing of products, services and different events in rural

areas,

- achieving greater access of inhabitants to the participation of training program and additionally

stimulate them to take part in different forms of lifelong learning,

- more intense motivation for cooperation, project work, common marketing of products, services

and events in rural areas.

Therefore, there should be:

- identification of hidden possibilities /potentials, offered by rural areas.

- stimulation of the development of different services and activities in rural areas.

- improve of the quality of promotion of activities and services in rural areas.

- creation of balance of activities and services with the sustainable development and protection of

natural and cultural heritage.

- raising awareness that each activity is the promotion of the area and village (town) and with this

in view the possibility of development and additional income.

- development in line with the revitalization of rural areas.

- understanding sustainable development and decision making strategy, which lead into the

improvement of the quality of life and long-term environment, economic and social well-fare.

- acquisition of theoretical and practical knowledge enabling individuals for more active

participation in the development of local environment, taking into account the specific features of

rural development.

The action (educational program) should contain 5 modules including sustainable development,

entrepreneurship, organic, green economy projects, local characteristics, legislation and

preservation of cultural and natural heritage.

56

The program should be carried out by expertise with lot of experiences in the fields, twice a week,

4 hours a day for 3 months. Participants have to be actively involved in the implementation of the

pilot program which contains lectures, presentations, discussions, concrete demonstrations of best

practices and also visiting and discussing with some of successful entrepreneurs at the local area.

Participants have to be provided with many chances to incorporate their ideas with new

knowledge gained during the program.

This kind of educational program gives concrete opportunity to the participants to acquire the

skills and competences required for the self-employment, re-employment or first job seekers -

“multi skilled work force”, capable of moving with the times and reacting to the concrete local /

regional / national / EU demands.

- the training program comprises 80 classroom hours (45 minutes).

- it is practically implemented twice a week, 4 class - room hours each time.

- the participants of the training program have 20 meetings.

- the training program combines theoretical and practical contents in the integrated way,

elaborated in 5 individual modules, which are interdependent and complementary in contents.

8.2.1.8 “Summer University”

Another way to keep the young and skilled people on the territory could be developing solution-

based concepts in the interests of the biosphere reserve ideas.

Therefore, in the “Summer University” students may develop concepts and projects together with

professors from different universities in order to “stop the rural emigration”.

Within this context “stop the rural emigration” it is important to involve the local inhabitants and

to refer to the biosphere reserve. The objective of the students’ projects is to take measures to

enhance the infrastructure and the public services in decreased rural regions. Additional to this,

sustainable development should be ensured.

There should be several theoretical lectures held with topics from architecture, landscape

planning, geography, political science, tourism, sociology and EU regional management. These

lectures are relevant to get inputs for the student projects.

57

In the practical lectures, the students should be divided into small groups to develop

interdisciplinary concepts. There are 12 tasks or projects divided into the following topics:

- awareness raising in the biosphere reserve

- mobility

- pastures

- body of water

- ornithology

- new live behind old buildings

The projects should be executed in a sustainable way and should be “visible” for outsiders.

The idea is not to invent something totally new, but to use available infrastructures and

institutions to improve the area.

Furthermore, manufacturing and fabrication should be possible in the biosphere reserve.

Therefore several institutions, universities, schools, companies and private persons could be

involved.

The different projects take care of barrier-free, nature protection and accessibility to public

transport. The data should be collected from literature, plans, maps, and interviews, monitoring,

and field excursion.

Then, the results of the projects have to be presented to the public, stated in writing and

represented graphically.

Results include:

• Report of 12 student projects that are potential solutions for the promotion of the area in

order to stop rural emigration;

• Engagement of those responsible to implement those projects;

• Development of 12 new ideas for “model region for sustainable development”;

• Acquisition of 2 new customers for the implantation for 2 of the 12 projects.

58

8.2.1.9 “Triple I – Individual Innovation Intelligence”

One last approach which is good to fight emigration of young and high skilled people from rural

areas concerning the field of adult education, training courses and local identity is to promote and

actively support “social innovation” in order to meet challenges of demographic change and to

adapt to foreseeable changes in social and economic structures within the region.

Within this context “social innovation” considers new formats of inter-generational collaboration

and civic participation as possible ways to cope with upcoming challenges.

• Individuals should be supported to develop and strengthen their skills for problem-solving.

• Inhabitants should be attracted to actively engage in activities for regional-development.

• The regional economy should benefit from a new culture of innovation and participation.

So, the specific objective of the action is the development and implementation of an innovative

“workshop and training-format (Triple I: Individual Innovation Intelligence)”.

This new service should:

- bundle experience and know-how of younger and older generations (inter-generational

learning);

- activate unemployed resources within the region (civic participation);

- develop new ideas for challenges faced by public and private sectors (innovation);

- initiate a regional center for talent-development, inter-generational collaboration and innovation

(sustainability).

Key-Actions to carry out include the development, funding, pilot-implementation, and transfer of

the newly invented “Triple I Workshop Format”.

Development and funding of “Triple I”

The following activities should be carried out:

• communication and reconciliation with project-partners, main interest-groups, and

potential customers (public and private sector) in order to highlight main regional challenges;

• development of a new workshop-format, that simultaneously fosters intergenerational

learning and problem solving;

• project- and financial-planning;

59

• filing two applications for funding within the funding program.

Pilot-implementation of “Triple I”

The previously developed workshop-format should be implemented together with the municipality.

• The municipality provides with a practice-oriented mobility-challenge. Based on this

challenge, an inter-generational team including inhabitants and experts develops several ideas

that could be implemented for problem-solving.

• The process of challenge-definition, problem-description, team-building, and idea-

generation has to be supported by a group of experts. The workshop intends to arouse curiosity,

foster creativity and re-activate the collective-intelligence to create new ideas for problem solving.

Services to support the transfer of “Triple I”

Once the newly invented service will be piloted successfully, transfer activities will start. Activities

to support the intended replication include:

- public relations in order to spread project-information and -results;

- communication and coordination with further potential customers within the region;

- communication, coordination, and planning in order to draft a proposal for a sustainable

implementation of a new “idea- and talent-program” within the region.

Results have to include:

- implementation of 1 newly developed “Triple I

workshop format” for the municipality;

- engagement of 19 inhabitants in problem-

solving and inter-generational learning-

sessions;

- development of 9 ideas for “new mobility”;

- achievement of two funding approvals for the

implementation and transfer of the “Triple I

workshop format”;

- acquisition of 2 new customers for further

Triple I workshops;

- foundation of a “Syndicate Triple I”.

21. Activity within the "Triple I" implementation

60

8.3 Increase of the investments for public social infrastructure

The Project Areas which are good to intervene on in order to pursue this objective are:

• Development of public social infrastructures (as in Piedmont, Thuringia, Styria and Brzeg

Dolny);

• Social infrastructures and mobility demands (as in Hungary).

The investments for

public social

infrastructure are

increased

COMMON OBJECTIVES



61



infrastructures to increase the investments for public social infrastructure are:




The investments for

public social

infrastructure are

increased

COMMON OBJECTIVES



62


One of the possible strategies to increase the investments for public

social infrastructure is improving medical care for immobile patients

and guarantee a reasonable accessibility to the doctors, preserving

in this way the life quality for citizens of all age classes and

guaranteeing viability and attractiveness of the region.

Activities and strategies in this field have already been explained in

the previous section.


The investments for public social infrastructure increase also with the creation of specific centers

built with the purpose of helping people to gather and interact with one another.



The investments for public social infrastructure increase as well strengthening the awareness

regarding social and health-care related needs of the European population, that actually do cause

a growing market demand regarding appropriate services for “burn-out and stress-prevention”.

So, there is the need to create new and improve already existing health-care services, in order to

make the environment more pleasant to live in.


22. PA meeting

63



increase the investments for public social infrastructure are:





The activities that should be carried out in order to increase the investments for public social

infrastructure include services to support the pilot-implementation, funding, and the transfer of

the newly invented service addressing elderly and very old people.

The investments for

public social

infrastructure are

increased

COMMON OBJECTIVES



64



To increase the investments for public social infrastructure, a good approach could be keeping

young people in the rural areas and provide them with the needed infrastructures.







Then, to increase the investments for public social infrastructure, a good approach to pursue

could be creating specific infrastructures to promote the mutual understanding and dialogue

between generations.


65

8.4 New solutions to improve transports services in rural areas

The fields on which it is advisable operating in order to improve transport services in rural areas

are:



• Adult education, training courses, local identity (as in Austria and Slovenia);





areas are adopted

COMMON OBJECTIVES





66



infrastructures to improve transport services in rural areas are:






areas are adopted

COMMON OBJECTIVES





67


To improve transport services in rural areas it could be useful to work in order to guarantee a

reasonable accessibility to the doctors and therefore improve medical care for immobile patients,

preserving in this way the life quality for citizens of all age classes and guaranteeing viability and

attractiveness of the region.



Transport services in rural areas are improved also with the

creation of specific centers built with the purpose of helping

people to gather and interact with one another and the

guarantee of the accessibility to these centers.

Activities and strategies in this field have already been explained

in the previous section.


While strengthening the awareness regarding social and health-care related needs of the

European population, which actually do cause a growing market demand regarding appropriate

services for “burn-out and stress-prevention”, it is also important to improve the transportation

services of the area.

So, there is the need to create new and improve already existing health-care services and

guarantee accessibility from rural areas as well.



68



improve transport services in rural areas are:





Elderly people are the ones who need most public transportation services so, in order to improve

them, it is necessary to work on inventing new services addressing old people in particular. The



areas are adopted

COMMON OBJECTIVES





69





To improve transportation services in rural areas and therefore the social isolation remarked

there, a good approach could be trying to keep young people in the rural areas.







Then, to improve transportation services and therefore to keep more people in the rural area

concerned, a good approach to pursue could be promoting mutual understanding and dialogue



70



demand to improve transport services in rural areas are:






areas are adopted

COMMON OBJECTIVES





71


In order to improve transportation services in rural areas, it is fundamental to understand which

are the transportation problems of the area and find a solution and, therefore, conduct a research

(through personal interviews and surveys) on mobility demands of the territory and district

specific recommendations on ways to effectively organize public transport system in the area.



To improve transportation services in rural areas it is also advisable to indirectly promote social

volunteerism in the region by analyzing the current situation regarding volunteering services.




8.4.1.9 Integration of disabled and young people into cultural life

Also setting up integration of disabled and young people into cultural life could be a good strategy

to improve transportation services in rural areas. Indeed, a solution might be to make the cultural

offer for the youth more vividly in the area, also involving as many local actors in the

implementation as possible.




72


The best approaches that have been remarked in the field of public transport and non-motorized

transport to improve transport services in rural areas are:


� Shared space.



age and cannot use any more their car, which they might have used all life. Especially in rural

surroundings they can find themselves in a very problematic situation if there is no social network

around that can substitute their car driver skills and bring them to necessary services like the



areas are adopted

COMMON OBJECTIVES





73

doctor, to shopping, but also to maintain social activities like to visit friends etc. and thus remain

socially included. In other words, their options for an autonomous lifestyle and social participation

decrease. This problem is worsened if they do not know how to stay mobile using the existing

public transport services, how to buy the best suiting ticket at the often complicated ticket

machines, how to find the best connection from A to B, or e.g. they do not know if they can enter

a bus easily also when having a mobility impairment due to their age.




Nevertheless, the growing number of elderly and less mobile persons represents a big target

group for adequate public transport offers particularly in rural areas (provided the services are

well usable and suitable for the older users in terms of barrier free infrastructure and cars,

information etc.).

Helping there people is a great strategy to improve public transport services in rural areas.




transport and non-motorized transport to improve transportation services is to operate in order to

reduce road accidents, to foster the quality of life of the inhabitants and to encourage the volume

of sales for the shops located near the shared space zones due to a higher rate of pedestrians.


74

8.5 Public social infrastructures prove more adequate to the


Focusing on young people, the Project Areas on which is suitable to work in order to help them

living and staying in the context of rural areas are:

• Development of public social infrastructures (as in Piedmont, Thuringia, Styria and Brzeg

Dolny);



Public social




COMMON OBJECTIVES




75



infrastructures to prove public social infrastructures more adequate to the new social challenges

are:




Public social




COMMON OBJECTIVES




76


To prove public social infrastructures more adequate to the new social challenges it could be

useful to work in order to guarantee a reasonable accessibility to the doctors and therefore

improve medical care for immobile patients, preserving in this way the life quality for citizens of

all age classes and guaranteeing viability and attractiveness of the region.



Public social infrastructures in rural areas are proved more adequate to the new social challenges

also with the creation of specific centers built with the purpose of helping people to gather and

interact with one another and the guarantee of the accessibility to these centers.



To prove public social infrastructures more adequate to the new social challenges it is also

necessary to strengthen the awareness regarding social and health-care related needs of the

European population, which actually do cause a growing market demand regarding appropriate

services for “burn-out and stress-prevention”.

So, there is the need to create new and improve already existing health-care services and

guarantee accessibility from rural areas as well.


77



demand to prove public social infrastructures more adequate to the new social challenges are:




Public social




COMMON OBJECTIVES




78


In order to prove public social infrastructures more adequate to the new social challenges, it is

fundamental to find a solution to the transportation problems of the area and, therefore, conduct

a research (through personal interviews and surveys) on mobility demands of the territory and

district specific recommendations on ways to effectively organize public transport system in the

area.



To prove public social infrastructures more adequate to the new social challenges it is also

advisable to indirectly promote social volunteerism in the region by analyzing the current situation

regarding volunteering services.




8.5.1.6 Integration of disabled and young people into cultural life

Also setting up integration of disabled and young people into cultural life could be a good strategy

to prove public social infrastructures more adequate to the new social challenges. Indeed, a

solution might be to make the cultural offer for the youth more vividly in the area, also involving

as many local actors in the implementation as possible.




79


Some good approaches that have been remarked in the field of public transport and non-

motorized transport to prove public social infrastructures more adequate to the new social

challenges:


� Shared space.

Public social




COMMON OBJECTIVES




80



age, especially in rural surroundings. Therefore, their options for an autonomous lifestyle and

social participation decrease.

Helping those people is a great strategy to prove public social infrastructures more adequate to

the new social challenges.




transport and non-motorized transport to prove public social infrastructures more adequate to the

new social challenges is to operate in order to reduce road accidents, to foster the quality of life

of the inhabitants and to encourage the volume of sales for the shops located near the shared

space zones due to a higher rate of pedestrians.


81

8.6 Focus on young people

Focusing on young people, the Project Areas on which is suitable to work in order to help them

living and staying in the context of rural areas are:

• To make them more attracted by rural life style: Development of public social infrastructures

(as in Piedmont, Thuringia, Styria and Brzeg Dolny);

• To strengthen their autonomy: Social Housing in rural areas (as in Austria and Elvo Valley);

• To make new generations more involved in the organization of local development actions:

Adult education, training courses, local identity (as in Austria and Slovenia);

Focus on young people

COMMON OBJECTIVES




82


Focusing on young people, the best approaches that have been remarked in the field of

development of public social infrastructures to make them more attracted by rural life style are:





COMMON OBJECTIVES




83


To attract youngsters towards rural areas it could be useful to work in order to guarantee a

reasonable accessibility to the doctors and therefore improve medical care for immobile patients,

preserving in this way the life quality for citizens of all age classes and guaranteeing viability and

attractiveness of the region. In this way, young people would feel more likely to live in rural

areas, knowing that when they age they will not find any mobility difficulty.



Rural areas would become more attractive for young people also with the creation of specific

centers built with the purpose of helping people to gather and interact with one another.



The charm of rural areas towards young people increases also strengthening the awareness

regarding social and health-care related needs of the European population, which actually do

cause a growing market demand regarding appropriate services for “burn-out and stress-

prevention”.



84



strengthen the autonomy of youngsters are:





COMMON OBJECTIVES




85


Again, young people would feel more likely to live in rural areas if they know that aging there will

not be difficult and they will be autonomous. Therefore, it is necessary to work on inventing new

services addressing old people in particular. The activities that should be carried out include

services to support the pilot-implementation, funding, and the transfer of the newly invented

service addressing elderly and very old people.



In order to make young people more attracted to rural areas and to strengthen their autonomy, it

is essential to offer them the opportunity to support a rewarding personal and working life. And

the housing autonomy is a key index for a good life quality. Furthermore it’s important to develop

the issue of participation of young generation to the architectural characterization of rural

locations.



Again, in order to make young people more attracted to rural areas and to strengthen their

autonomy, a good approach to pursue could be promoting mutual understanding and dialogue



86



local identity to make young people more involved in the organization of local development

actions are:





COMMON OBJECTIVES




87

8.6.1.7 Developing opportunity and discovering the potential

If youngsters have an active role in the local development actions and are well aware of the

situation of their own area, they are supposed they happen to be more involved in the

organization of local development actions. Therefore, the basic aim of a training program should

be to offer the inhabitants of the rural areas the possibility to get systematically acquainted with

contents enabling them to take an active role in activities and services leading to the development

of rural areas.


8.6.1.8 “Summer University”

Another way to make young people more involved in the organization of local development

actions could be developing solution-based concepts in the interests of the biosphere reserve

ideas.

Therefore, the “Summer University” tool could be useful.


8.6.1.9 “Triple I – Individual Innovation Intelligence”

One last approach which is good to make young people more involved in the organization of local

development actions concerning the field of adult education, training courses and local identity is

to promote and actively support “social innovation” in order to meet challenges of demographic

change and to adapt to foreseeable changes in social and economic structures within the region.


88

8.7 Guarantee good health services to old people in rural areas

The Project Areas on which is suitable to work in order to guarantee good health services to old

people in rural areas are:



• Capacity building regarding social and healthcare related services for elderly and very old

people is increased: Social Housing in rural areas (as in Austria and Elvo Valley).


COMMON OBJECTIVES



89



infrastructures to guarantee health services to old people in rural areas are:





To guarantee health services to old people in rural areas it could be useful to work in order to

guarantee a reasonable accessibility to the doctors and therefore improve medical care for


COMMON OBJECTIVES



90

immobile patients, preserving in this way the life quality for citizens of all age classes and

guaranteeing viability and attractiveness of the region.



Health services to old people in rural areas could be guaranteed also with the creation of specific

centers built with the purpose of helping people to gather and interact with one another. In fact,

making the environment more likable and making old people meet younger people, a better the

life of old people would be improved, and therefore their healthcare.



Health services to old people in rural areas are also guaranteed by strengthening the awareness

regarding social and health-care related needs of the European population, which actually do

cause a growing market demand regarding appropriate services for “burn-out and stress-

prevention”.



91



increase the capacity building regarding social and healthcare related services for elderly and very

old people are:





To increase capacity building regarding social and healthcare related services for elderly and very

old people it is necessary to work on inventing new services addressing them in particular. The


COMMON OBJECTIVES



92





To increase capacity building regarding social and healthcare related services for elderly and very

old people it is necessary to keep young people in the territory. In order to make young people

more attracted to rural areas, it is essential to offer them the opportunity to support a rewarding

personal and working life. And the housing autonomy is a key index for a good life quality.

Furthermore it’s important to develop the issue of participation of young generation to the

architectural characterization of rural locations.



Again, in order to increase capacity building regarding social and healthcare related services for

elderly and very old people, a good approach to pursue could be promoting mutual understanding

and dialogue between generations.


93

9. Other objectives pursued by the EURUFU

Project

There are also other fundamental objectives which are not pursued by more than one pilot action,

but still are very important and deserve to be highlighted.

These objectives are the following:

• Policy makers understand the importance to make the most of the strengths of rural areas;

• Improvement of the intergenerational learning in rural areas;

• The population of rural areas is more informed and involved in the organization of local

development actions;

• Full endorsement of the local potential;

• Improvement of the skills of unemployed people;

• Improvement of the quality of services;

• Creation of new job opportunities;

• Enforcement of the networking between private and public entities and the inter-sector

cooperation;

• Preservation of identity and traditions of rural areas.

94

9.1 Policy makers understand the importance to make the most of the strengths of

rural areas

The Project Area on which is suitable to work in order to make the policy makers understand the

importance to make the most of the strengths of rural areas is the development of public social

infrastructures, as it has been done in Piedmont, Thuringia, Styria and Brzeg Dolny.

The best approaches that have been remarked in this field to pursue this goal are:




Through these actions, that have been fully described in the previous chapters, it is indeed

possible to help the policy makers in understanding that the rural areas in which they are set

possess great strengths and that it is fundamental to identify them and make the best out of

them.

9.2 Improvement of the intergenerational learning in rural areas

The Project Area on which is suitable to work in order to improve intergenerational learning in

rural areas is social housing in rural areas, as it has been done in Austria and Elvo Valley within

EURUFU Project.


pursue this goal are:



95


One of the main goals of these actions, that have been fully described in the previous chapters, is

indeed to promote the communication among generations and to make the environment more

likable for all its inhabitants, who belong to different generations.

9.3 The population of rural areas is more informed and involved in the

organization of local development actions

The Project Area on which is suitable to work in order to make the population of rural areas more

informed and involved in the organization of local development actions is adult education, training

courses, local identity, as done in Austria and Slovenia.


local identity to pursue this aim are:




These actions, that have been fully described in the previous chapters, have indeed the objective

to inform the inhabitants of rural areas about the local actions which are supposed to help the

development of the territory, and therefore to involve the population in the organization,

encouraging the citizens to be a part of the community and help improving their own territory.

96

9.4 Full endorsement of the local potential

As for the previous objective, the Project Area on which is suitable to work in order to pursue it is

adult education, training courses, local identity, as done in Austria and Slovenia.


local identity to achieve the full endorsement of the local potential are:




These actions, that have already been described, have also the goal to fully endorse the local

potential of the territory, and therefore to foster the development of the area.

97

9.5 Improvement of the skills of unemployed people

Job opportunities, starting businesses and promotion of local identity. Series of

workshops: “Discover innovative solutions to sustainable development”

The aim of this action is to promote innovative solutions in order to detect innovative solutions to

sustainable development in regions with shrinking population. Therefore, the project tries to

define relevant criteria for a valid benchmarking of key topics of job opportunities and local

economy to mitigate the demographic challenges that are also facing the challenges of

unemployment issues in the rural area.

Development of Pilot action program job opportunities

- research on related programs in

the local area;

- communication with possible

stakeholders (employment

service, students clubs, local

SME);

- cooperation with external

expertise as regional expertise.

Through the Pilot action is given the presentation of existing social and economic know-how and

infrastructure in the region and identify the possible practical ways to its synergy adaptation for

mitigating the demographic changes in local environment.

Motivation training program consists of series of workshops. The pilot action starts with introductory

meeting, whose follows the series of four motivation workshops as modules:

- module 1: Dream and reality

- module 2: Sustainable development and growth

- module 3: Visit good practices in local area

24. Activity within the series of workshops: “Discover innovative solutions to sustainable development”

98

- module 4: Final discussion on visits of good practices and introduction to business model

development.

Important motivation issue is visitation of local good practices, which sustainable successfully use

the strengths and opportunities that exist in local environment for their own job opportunity.

Important part of the motivation program is also the opportunity of individual mentoring on

participants idea/business model on their job opportunities in local area.

The activities are conducted as following:

- to identify the weaknesses and threats of the economic challenges in the region that

participants are facing directly in their everyday life,

- to motivate participants to find the positive solutions for their challenges by identifying the

strengths and opportunities that exist in their own local environment,

- to understand the identification of job opportunities and ability to take responsibility of

decision-making,

- participants will be familiar with the basic principles of creating a business model, how to

start the new job opportunitv ideas,

- raising stakeholders’ awareness by creating transparency about the next challenges of

demographic changes and highlighting the possibilities and opportunities for active action.

The motivation training program flows from a general view of the global environment to the

responsibility of each participant for the future, how to define their selves, how to explain their role

for the future development of the local and global environment. Motivation program is a

combination of socializing, group dynamic, understanding the role of self in the society,

independent thinking, drawing sketches and writing plans, teaching, discussions.

“Language and jobseeker’s competences courses”

In order to improve the situation of local economy and job opportunities, it is needed to:

- improve the skills of unemployed people;

- improve language and professional skills;

- improve the skills of tourism/service industry employees and therefore quality of services

99

- improve the language skills with regard to servicing i.e. German speaking clients, to activate of

unemployed people

- spread knowledge about cross-border opportunities to get a job

- practice job search and skills gained by language courses

Therefore, the activities that should be put up are:

- Reconstruction of the room for language courses;

- German language and professional skills courses.

The most suitable tools are:

- Courses of basic German for unemployed or

unskilled people

Basic German language courses with

professional skills training (2 classes

with 25 clients). Among clients:

significant group of socially excluded

- Courses of German for service industry workers (esp. tourism industry) - 1 class with 14 clients

Aimed at clients who already have basic German language knowledge and esp. at

recent service / tourism industry employees. Special purpose was to improve

language competences essential for providing high quality services for German

clients

- Regional Job Fair (4 employer agencies)

� During first part of the Job Fair, employment agencies would make presentations on:

Current situation on regional labor market and hints for getting a job;

Opportunities to get a job through private Job Agency and hints for getting a job;

Opportunities and procedures to get a job through public Job Agency in Germany

and characteristics of current situation on regional labor market.

� During the second part of the Job Fair, Job Interviews should be held

25. Activity within the “Language and jobseeker’s competences courses”

100

9.6 Improvement of the quality of services

As said before, the Project Area on which is suitable to work in order to pursue this objective is

the job opportunities field, as it has been done in North West Slovenia and Usti.

The most suitable actions that have been remarked in the field of job opportunities to improve the

quality of services are:

� Job opportunities, starting businesses and promotion of local identity. Series of workshops:

“Discover innovative solutions to sustainable development”;

� “Language and jobseeker’s competences courses”.

Both these actions, which have been described in the previous chapter, aim indeed to understand

the needs of the job market and spot its lacks, in order to improve the quality of services.

9.7 Creation of new job opportunities

Again, the Project Area on which is suitable to work in order to pursue this objective is the job

opportunities field, as it has been done in North West Slovenia and Usti.

The most suitable actions that have been remarked in the field of job opportunities to improve the

quality of services are:




The consequence of both these actions and their activities, which have been described in the

previous chapter, is of course the creation of new job opportunities for young and/or unemployed

people.

101

9.8 Enforcement of the networking between private and public entities and the

inter-sector cooperation

This is the last objective pursued within the Project Area of job opportunities, as it has been done

in North West Slovenia and Usti.

The most suitable actions that have been remarked in the field of job opportunities to enforce the

networking between private and public entities and the inter-sector cooperation are:




The consequence of both these actions and their activities, which have been described in the

previous chapter, is indeed the strengthening of the relations between private and public entities

and the inter-sector cooperation, and therefore the improvement of the job market of the area.

9.9 Preservation of identity and traditions of rural areas

The Project Area on which is suitable to work in order to preserve the identity and traditions of

rural areas is social infrastructures and mobility demands, as it has been done in Hungary.


demand to preserve the identity and traditions of rural areas are:



� Interactive events for children.

These actions, that have been fully described in the previous chapters, have indeed the objective

to improve the environment and services and infrastructures of the rural areas, but also aim to

not damage the identity and traditions of the territory while doing that.

102

10. Final comments

After analyzing all the objectives that have been pursued by the EURUFU Project, a few final

considerations can be made.

Even if some of the objectives are common to more than one pilot area and some are not, they

are all equally important for the development of rural areas.

Of course, since they are several, not all the goals can be pursued by the same action.

Therefore, EURUFU Project has to be seen not like a combination of detached actions but, on the

contrary, as a whole project with common aims. So, within the project, several actions have been

set up, in order to pursue one or more goals. This can be also seen as a “how-to book” about how

to achieve the aims concerned: having an objective in mind, it could be useful to check which

EURUFU strategies have been used to achieve it and then choose the one that suits best to the

area concerned, adapting it to the environment involved.

Indeed, EURUFU actions have proved themselves as good tools for the development of rural areas

and therefore should be used as an example of good practices.

Documents

CORE Output 4.2 - thueringen.deapps.thueringen.de/imperia/md/content/tmbv/landes... · New Opportunities to secure the provision of public services in rural cities and municipalities