EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR THE COHESION AND SOLIDARITY IN RURAL AREAS Impacting the young generation

The University of Thessaly, was the host of the 5th International Partner Meeting within the “European Network for Economic Cohesion and Solidarity in Rural Areas” ( ENSURE) project that was held in Volos, Greece, from 18th to 20th of March, 2019.
The event, financed by the “Europe for Citizens” Program of the European Union, gathered International participants from 13 EU countries such as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Spain.
This international partner meeting was devoted to rural development and how to impact young people. Experts in agriculture, plant protection, organic farming and experts from the greenhouse sector, shared their knowledge with the more than 200 students of the University of Thessaly that attended to the scientific conference and presented the opportunities EU funds offer for youth and development of agriculture.
During a three-day program, partners had time to discuss, to interact, to network among each other and share experiences and opinions on rural development and on EU policies at local level.
Partners participated to the workshop arranged to master the ENSURE final publication, talked about planning future cooperation and discussed the details of the final event of the project in Slovenia.
Partners also had the chance to visit the Brickworks museum at Tsalapatas complex in Volos, to visit the facilities of the School of Agricultural Sciences in Volos, to visit the traditional village of Makrinitsa at Pelion Mountain and taste local traditional dishes. Also they had a cultural tour at the sight-seeing along the coastal side of the city of Volos and finally, a study visit to the Greenhouse facilities of the flourishing company of “Gardenia Growers Group”, to see from close how greenhouses and group work can be used as a tool for rural development.