BRCK Association is looking for European partner organisations to jointly develop a new Erasmus+ Youth Exchange project:
DO NOT DELETE – Rural Futures Lab
Young people rewriting the future of Europe’s small places
The project is planned to take place in Bulgaria in May 2027, with the application to be submitted by 1 October 2026.
Across Europe, villages and small towns are often described only through depopulation, limited opportunities and everything they have lost. Yet these places also contain overlooked resources, strong communities and young people with ideas about how their future could be different.
DO NOT DELETE will invite young people from several European countries to explore a central question:
What could Europe’s small places become by 2035 if young people had a stronger role in shaping their future?
A concept developed with young people
The idea has grown from BRCK’s work and conversations with young people, volunteers and local communities in small settlements. Their experiences show that young people do not simply want others to speak about their problems—they want meaningful opportunities to investigate local realities, contribute ideas and take part in creating change.
Young people will therefore be involved not only as participants in the mobility but also in the project’s preparation, activity design, implementation and follow-up. Each partner organisation will consult its future participants and a selected small community before the application is finalised.
The Future Newsroom
The exchange will function as an international Future Newsroom. Before arriving in Bulgaria, each national group will select a village or small town in its own country and prepare a short profile of the place:
- What is gradually disappearing?
- What opportunities are young people missing?
- What overlooked resources already exist?
- What could realistically change by 2035?
During the exchange, international teams will conduct field missions, meet local residents, map challenges and hidden opportunities, and create fictional but realistic news reports “broadcast from 2035.”
The strongest ideas will then be transformed into practical local prototypes. These might include a youth-led media channel, a new use for an abandoned space, a community event, a volunteering initiative, a local route or a new way of involving young people in local decision-making.
The participants will present their proposals at a public 2035 Newsroom, where local residents will be able to discuss and assess the ideas.
What will remain after the exchange?
The main shared result will be the DO NOT DELETE: European Rural Futures Atlas, developed with the support of E-volution Media. It will bring together:
- portraits of the participating small communities;
- creative news reports from 2035;
- maps of local challenges, resources and opportunities;
- young people’s proposals for the future;
- examples of follow-up actions implemented in the partner countries.
Following the exchange, every national group will organise at least one small local action inspired by the work developed during the project.
Who are we looking for?
We are particularly interested in organisations that:
- work with young people from villages, rural areas or small towns;
- have a strong connection with a specific local community;
- can involve young people with fewer opportunities;
- are interested in youth participation, rural development, creative media or storytelling;
- are ready to involve young people in the project preparation process;
- can organise a small follow-up action after the exchange;
- are willing to contribute actively to the development of the application.
Media production will be used as a tool for participation and imagining possible futures—not as the project’s sole purpose.
Organisations interested in joining the partnership are invited to contact BRCK Association and briefly introduce their work, target groups, relevant experience and the small community they would like to bring into the project.
