RurALL – Rural Active Citizenship Labs

The RurALL project, in which for the first time during its existence KÉK assumes the role of consortium leader, is realised with the support of the European Union, within the framework of the CERV-2023-CITIZENS-CIV call. The aim of the two-year programme is to change the mindset of rural inhabitants and enable them to participate in local and EU-level environmental actions and political decision-making related to global climate change.

The project is based on the principle that 'citizen participation is citizen power'. Our goal is to involve rural residents in climate and environment-related dialogues, actions, and policy processes who are currently inactive or have become disillusioned with local and EU-level decision-making. The EU has the ambitious goal of becoming the first climate-neutral continent along the lines of the European Green Deal – to achieve this, local action and the active participation of rural communities are needed.

The uniqueness of the RurALL project lies in its focus on concrete issues relevant to residents in the target areas, taking into account the characteristics of those communities and adapting the applied tools accordingly. During the programme, in five EU member states (France, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, and Slovakia), we will test, implement, and promote new methods to involve the rural population in the EU's climate and environmental efforts.

The aim of RurALL is to provide educational and participatory opportunities for the rural population, outlining possible paths for rural eco-activism, and to encourage and support local citizens in initiating and implementing jointly planned activities concerning their environment, taking an active role in the green transition.