Partnership Building Activity: Young Women in Rural Communities - Inclusive Youth Work and Access to Opportunities

We invite youth workers from Programme countries and Southern Mediterranean countries to take part in an international Partnership Building Activity (PBA) in Northern Portugal focused on inclusive youth work with young women, particularly those living in rural, remote or peripheral communities.

Young women living in rural and peripheral areas experience unique realities that present both opportunities and challenges. Rural communities often offer strong social connections, a sense of belonging and growing spaces for community engagement, local leadership and social innovation. At the same time, young women may face barriers such as geographical isolation, limited mobility, reduced access to information, fewer educational and professional opportunities, persistent gender stereotypes and less direct access to youth services and international experiences.

These factors can particularly affect young women with fewer opportunities, influencing their participation in community life and their awareness of, and access to, local, national and European opportunities. Youth work has an important role to play in recognising the strengths of rural communities while addressing the barriers that prevent young women from fully participating, accessing information and benefiting from the opportunities available to them.

Youth workers and youth organisations play an important role in addressing these inequalities. They can create inclusive spaces, provide information, accompany young women in accessing opportunities and develop practices that respond to the realities of their communities.

The PBA will bring together youth workers from E+ and ESC Programme and Southern Mediterranean countries to exchange experiences and reflect on how their organisations engage young women, remove barriers and make opportunities more visible, accessible and inclusive.

The programme will include a visit to a local organisation in Northern Portugal working with young women or rural communities. This activity will offer a concrete starting point for discussion, while the main focus of the activity will remain on peer learning and the exchange of practices among participants.