Learning more about other European cultures and developing enterprising skills were key outcomes from the recent Rural Youth Europe European Rally in Estonia.
Hosted by rural youth organisation Estonian 4H, nearly 100 participants took part in the week-long international exchange where sessions focused on improving an entrepreneurial mindset.
The five members representing England included NFYFC Vice Chair James Nixey from Buckinghamshire, Rosie Bennett and Jordan Winter from Devon, Laura Hunter from County Durham and Jack Hammond from Norfolk.
The group learnt how to use entrepreneurial competencies in real life situations and discussed sustainability in their local communities.
Laura Hunter has been a member of Butsfield YFC in County Durham for 12 years and applied to go on the Rally as she was keen to learn more about different cultures and meet new people after graduating from university.
“There were plenty of social opportunities on an evening to integrate with the other participants, including an international buffet evening,” said Laura. “Equally, throughout the day opportunities were made to integrate with our peers, especially with the buddy groups we were placed in, which were of mixed nationalities and allowed important moments of reflection during the Rally.”
The international buffet is a highlight of the Rally every year, with 15 different countries presenting their national food and drink for everyone to try. It helps young people learn about different traditions and the stories behind the locally sourced produce.
Jack Hammond from Diss YFC in Norfolk was also part of the group from England and enjoyed the variety of things to do at the Rally.
"Each day there was a fantastically arranged schedule ensuring we always had something to do," said Jack. "It was really easy to meet the participants from other countries because many of the activities were interactive in mixed groups. In between sessions everyone mixed too such as playing volleyball."
Other activities included a ‘Human Library’ where participants asked rural entrepreneurs questions to learn more about their experiences. There was also an excursion day where participants visited a small holding and mixed farm to learn more about the importance of community in agriculture in Estonia.
Laura said: “The excursion day allowed me to learn about the agricultural techniques used in another country and the international buffet was an easily accessible way to learn more about the cultures of different countries, by both trying their foods and drinks whilst having interesting conversations!”
Participants also took part in an organisation fair, where they could learn more about each other's organisations. Jack said: "It was interesting to learn that they are facing similar problems to our own and to learn about their solutions to these."
Laura also enjoyed exploring the differences between YFC and the other youth organisations involved in the Rally.
“I found that 4H organisations have less of a ‘farming’ emphasis and are a more generalised group for rural youth, also catering for a younger age group than YFC does.
“However it did become apparent that the values of all these organisations were similar, offering key social opportunities for rural youth and tools to help up skill their members.”
During the week, Rural Youth Europe also announced the winners of its annual awards, with Wales YFC being named a runner up in the Project of the Year Award for Carmarthenshire’s My Food Plate experience.
YFC Travel experiences for 2025 will be launching in September and there will be opportunities to travel with Rural Youth Europe again, which Laura encouraged other members to try.
“Attending the Rally was such a memorable experience that I will treasure for a long time to come, and I feel very privileged to have attended. You’re guaranteed to learn new and useful information and meet a great bunch of people at the same time,” Laura said.
