New Youth Partnership brief calls for a broad ‘right to stay’ agenda for rural youth

Building on the findings of the recent Youth Partnership study on rural youth transitions, the new brief highlights that rural youth mobility is becoming increasingly fluid. Rather than viewing staying and leaving as opposite choices, it suggests that many young people combine periods of staying, commuting, studying elsewhere and returning throughout their lives. Policies should therefore focus on enabling these different mobility pathways instead of treating rural outmigration as inevitable. 

The brief also challenges common assumptions about rural youth aspirations. While outmigration remains an important trend, recent research found that around three-quarters of surveyed rural young people expected to stay in their current area, commute or move to a nearby rural community over the following year. Family ties, social connections and a strong sense of belonging emerged as important reasons for remaining in rural areas. 

Creating opportunities for young people – according to the brief – requires recognising the importance of place attachment, alongside access to services, education, employment and participation. Policies should support young people's connections to their communities, while reducing barriers to education, jobs and mobility.  

The brief proposes a range of measures, including improving public transport, strengthening rural youth participation, supporting mobility through programmes such as Erasmus+, fostering jobs linked to the green and digital transitions, and improving coordination between governance levels. 

The publication also places the ‘right to stay’ within the evolving European policy framework, highlighting recent initiatives by both the European Commission and the Council of Europe that recognise the need to support young people's opportunities to thrive in rural areas. 

The new knowledge brief complements the Youth Partnership study on rural youth transitions, previously featured by the Rural Pact, by translating its findings into practical recommendations for policymakers and organisations working with rural youth.  

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