La Mesa! - Interministerial Working Group on Rural Youth in Spain

Beschreibung

La Mesa! – the Interministerial Working Space on Rural Youth is an initiative led by EPA! Jóvenes Rurales to create a stable space for cooperation between organised rural youth, public administrations, ministerial programmes and territorial stakeholders with an impact on rural areas.

The process involves the participation of EPA! Jóvenes Rurales, the Spanish Youth Council (CJE) and the Spanish Youth Institute (INJUVE), together with key ministries working on rural youth issues, including the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy.

Its aim is to improve the connection between public policies and the everyday reality of young people living in rural areas. La Mesa! seeks to identify shared needs, create synergies between public programmes, translate institutional tools into the language and rhythms of rural communities, and open up real opportunities for collaboration in key areas such as territory, the primary sector and culture.

The proposal combines institutional work, youth participation and territorial knowledge. Through meetings, working groups, technical sessions and follow-up documents, La Mesa! aims to ensure that rural youth are not only consulted, but actively involved in improving, disseminating and adapting the public policies that affect their villages and territories.

In this sense, La Mesa! acts as a bridge between institutions and rural youth networks, strengthening participation, interministerial coordination and the capacity of rural territories to influence the policies that shape their future.

Stakeholder beneficiary(ies)

Activities

Expected Outcomes

Milestones we would like to highlight

The first key milestone was the creation of La Mesa! – the Interministerial Working Space on Rural Youth as a stable framework for dialogue between organised rural youth, public administrations and ministerial programmes affecting rural areas.

A second important milestone was the consolidation of the process after the meeting held in Piloña in February 2026, where the main working areas were defined: territory, primary sector and culture. These areas connect rural youth participation with concrete public programmes such as the Territorial Innovation Centres, Cultiva, cultural rights and heritage-based community processes.

Another milestone is the involvement of relevant public and territorial actors, including EPA! Jóvenes Rurales, CJE, INJUVE, MITECO, MAPA, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, together with European and territorial networks such as the European Commission, the Council of Europe, REDR, FEMP, FAO, the Faro Network and RETA.

The next milestone will be the organisation of working sessions with ministries, rural youth delegates and territorial stakeholders, aimed at identifying synergies between programmes, improving communication with rural youth and defining concrete ways of collaboration.

Final outcomes we would like to achieve

The main outcome is to make rural youth participation more structured, useful and connected to public policy. La Mesa! aims to ensure that young people in rural areas are not only consulted, but actively involved in shaping, improving and adapting the policies and programmes that affect their territories.

We also expect to produce practical working documents, summaries and recommendations that help ministries and public programmes better understand the needs, language and realities of rural youth.

A further outcome is to strengthen cooperation between ministries, youth organisations and territorial actors, creating a more coordinated approach to rural youth policies in Spain.

In the long term, La Mesa! seeks to become a replicable model of structured rural youth participation: a bridge between institutions and rural territories, helping young people influence public policies, access existing opportunities and take part in the future of their villages and communities.

Organisation/Company information