Erasmus+ KA153-YOU · 21–27 June 2026
Youth workers regenerating rural territories
Six days in Cava de’ Tirreni, 25 youth workers from five countries and two tools that now belong to everyone: a toolkit of ready-to-use methods and a policy brief for decision-makers.
The project
Rural RE-GEN LAB
Rural RE-GEN LAB is an Erasmus+ training course organised by St’Art Hub Angri. From 21 to 27 June 2026, at the Convento di San Francesco e Sant’Antonio (Youth Hostel) in Cava de’ Tirreni, it trained 25 youth workers (5 from each partner country: Italy, Spain, Türkiye, Poland and Hungary) in tools and methods for regenerating rural communities: youth activation, non-formal education and rural entrepreneurship.
The week combined workshops, roleplays and seminars with a final two-day hackathon, in which each group developed and pitched a concrete project for its own territory.
25
youth workers
5
countries
6
days of programme
1
rural hackathon
The method
Six steps to regenerate a territory
The heart of the toolkit: six steps, each with its own non-formal methods already tested with the participants.
01
Notice
Real-World Problem Framing · The Safe Place
02
Explore
Educational Photo Scavenger Hunt · Six Capitals Rural Asset Map
03
Imagine
Crazy 8s · Brainwriting 6-3-5 · What If? · Six Thinking Hats
04
Collaborate
Speed Meeting · Group Social Contract · Stakeholder Mapping · Roleplay: Diplomacy & Mediation
05
Act
Digital Storytelling · Digital & AI Tools for Changemakers · The Two-Day Rural Hackathon · Mentorship Rounds
06
Multiply
Pitch Session · The Export Kit · Pizza Feedback · Youthpass Reflection
Download the materials
Two tools, free for everyone
Both in English, designed to be used, adapted and shared.
Toolkit · 43 pages · PDF
Rural Youth Work Toolkit
Non-formal methods for youth workers who want to regenerate rural territories: the six steps of the method, ready-to-use activity sheets and a plan for your first 30 days.
CC BY-SA 4.0 licence: you can share and adapt it, crediting the source.
Policy brief · 13 pages · PDF
Youth Work Policy Brief
Youth workers as changemakers for rural regeneration: six recommendations, one for each step of the method, for municipalities, youth councils and regions.
Draft for consultation: it will be discussed at the multiplier events in the five countries.
The policy brief on one page
Five key messages
Rural territories won’t be regenerated for young people, but with them. Youth workers are the bridge, and today that bridge is fragile.
01
Depopulation is a youth issue.
Nearly half of Italian municipalities lie in inner areas, which lost 5% of their population in ten years. Those who leave are mostly young.
02
Youth workers are the missing link.
They reach young people where institutions don’t, and turn frustration into projects. Yet Italy still has no national definition of youth work.
03
Young people want a say, not a slogan.
European Youth Goal #6 asks that rural young people take part in decision-making. Many small municipalities have neither a youth council nor a youth budget.
04
Rural places are rich in unused resources.
Empty buildings, traditions, landscapes and networks of trust can become youth hubs, if access is made simple.
05
Small, stable investment beats big one-off events.
Multi-year funding for local youth work, micro-grants for young people’s ideas and support to access Erasmus+ multiply the impact.
The week’s programme
21–27 June 2026, Cava de’ Tirreni
Day 1 · Sunday 21 June
Arrival & Welcome
Check-in, welcome dinner, Speed Meeting and project presentation: 25 strangers from five countries become a group.
Day 2 · Monday 22 June
Entrepreneurship & Territorial Innovation
Real-world Problem Framing, a Diplomacy & Mediation roleplay, seminars on sustainable impact and fundraising. Spain & Türkiye intercultural night.
Day 3 · Tuesday 23 June
Social Innovation, Inclusion & Digital
Round tables on inclusion and scalability, Digital Storytelling, AI and digital tools for project management. Poland & Hungary night.
Day 4 · Wednesday 24 June
Field Day
A photo scavenger hunt between the Amalfi Coast and the streets of Cava de’ Tirreni, then the debriefing. Italian intercultural night.
Day 5 · Thursday 25 June
Hackathon · Inspiration, Teams & Ideation
Inspirational Talks, Problem Framing on the chosen case, Crazy 8s, Brainwriting, Six Thinking Hats and the first mentorship.
Day 6 · Friday 26 June
Hackathon · Prototyping & Final Pitch
Action Plan & Export Kit, second mentorship, pitch in front of the jury, Youthpass and farewell party.
Day 7 · Saturday 27 June
Departures
Goodbyes, last contacts and the collaborations between youth workers that carry on after the course.
Photos and moments
How it went
Partners
Five countries, one network
Coordinator
ST’ART HUB ANGRI ETS – APS
Angri (SA), Italy
Partners
Campusia SL
Spain
Partners
Uluslararası Akdeniz Gönüllülük Derneği – UAGDER
Türkiye
Partners
Kállósemjéni Diákokért és Ifjakért Egyesület
Hungary
Partners
Fundacja See Beyond
Poland
Project ref. 2025-3-IT03-KA153-YOU-000375256. Funded by the European Union.