Our Role

ERCA’s role is focused on networking and information sharing, skill development and promoting the importance of the rural areas and their people.

Networking and information sharing

  • Providing a platform for networking and exchange of experience, skills and knowledge between local communities and national networks
  • Creating a pool of experience from rural communities across Europe on how to make the countryside viable and deal with rural issues
  • Providing a platform for developing international connections and projects
  • Enabling mutual support, solidarity and confidence in rural communities
  • Spreading the idea and understanding of rural movements into other countries where they do not currently exist
  • Providing an information focus for forthcoming events, reports of conferences and projects etc.
  • Providing a challenge support function for members in their engagement with policy makers with the respective jurisdictions


Skills development

  • Providing a platform for mutual learning on the processes and structures of local rural development
  • Providing learning opportunities between the well established and new / potential national rural movements.
  • Developing community skills undertake their own research, dialogue with policy makers, project development and implementation 
  • Providing opportunities for local communities to experience, share and implement good practice from within and without the EU.
  • Sharing and teaching practical tools and advice for village development


Promoting the importance of the rural areas and people

  • Raising awareness at national and EU levels about the extent, knowledge, experience and needs of rural communities
  • Facilitating joint discussion between local communities and policy makers
  • Enabling the voice of rural communities to reach decision makers at regional, national and EU levels
  • Enabling local engagement in consultations on EU policies
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