History

A multi-national, inter-disciplinary team of university teachers, researchers and consultants of rural development worked together for 3 years in the Euracademy project with the central aim to promote in a real, practical and substantial way the sustainable development processes in rural areas. They developed and piloted with great success two educational packages including Summer Academies, Distance learning courses and publications. In this context, the project partners have decided to formally establish a non-profit membership organisation to take forward and expand the philosophy and activities of the project. The Euracademy Association was formally launched during the end-of-project conference in November 2003 in Hungary.

Vision

The core vision of the Euracademy Association is to promote capacity building in rural areas and mobilise animators and managers of rural development by offering them the opportunity to improve their skills, widen their experience, expand their professional qualifications, starting a personal itinerary of lifelong learning and providing ample space for networking and cooperation in the framework of European projects.

Objectives

The Euracademy Association aims to:

• Provide a mix of different “learning resources” to the learner, via the internet, manuals, face-to-face learning in Summer Academies, practical work and networking.

• Operate a website to disseminate information about the Association and its activities, host the educational products of the Association, create a forum for debate on issues of rural development and encourage synergies among people and organisations at different levels.

• Widen the membership and build a strong network, bringing together the providers and “clients” of rural capacity building services and products.

• Organise seminars, conferences and exhibitions addressing issues relating to capacity building and sustainable rural development.

• Undertake research and studies on sustainable rural development issues, with a view of building up a body of knowledge on this theme.

• Undertake practical work on account of, or in collaboration with, national and international organisations, including the European Commission.

• Influence the process of sustainable rural development at this crucial moment of the substantial enlargement of the European Union.