Abstract:

Education and training of young people in rural areas is an issue of concern for most EU member states. Statistics show that rural areas have a higher rate of early school leave, unemployment and social exclusion, while community engagement, active citizenship and voluntary practices take a backseat to the worries of daily living. Limited access to educational tools and materials outlining practical issues, like finances, digital literacy, community engagement, sustainability, along with little to no encouragement of community engagement, voluntary work opportunities, education and training opportunities and a lack of opportunities for entrepreneurship and local economic growth are issues young people are confronted with throughout most of Europe.

Within the framework of the MineTOUR project, experts from Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Spain and the Netherlands took it upon themselves to promote active citizenship and engagement of youth with civil society by using digital tools to encourage local tourism in rural areas.

This undertaking was based on a strong need to support rural development through local tourism and cultural heritage promotion for economic growth, job creation, and community development. Our research found that by improving digital skills for young people coming from rural areas with limited access to education and training opportunties, along with promoting sustainable tourism practices that respond to the need for both sustainable tourism development and cultural heritage preservation were a good start to engaging said young people in voluntary work, community engagement and becoming the promoters of their community.

It is our aim to show how we were able to develop the framework for a more active participation of young people in community life, in promoting their villages or towns, in getting interested and involved in sustainable activities, through our online trainings, our Minecraft-enhanced game and our other interactive digital tools developed in the MineTOUR project.

Keywords:

Technology, gamification, education and training, community engagement, sustainability.