Jessica Ellimen from Penrith YFC in Cumbria took part in this year’s Rural Youth Europe European Rally in Switzerland in August as part of the England team. The much-loved rally week was a different style of YFC Travel trip for Jessica but one that is firmly among her highlights.
Well, I've done YFC Travel trips before, but I have never been away with Rural Youth Europe. I've only got a couple of years left of Young Farmers so thought I’d give this one a try.
I went on the Field Farm Tours to Iceland and did a volunteering trip to Nepal. When I was away in Iceland, Niall Evans, who used to be RYE Chair, was trying to persuade us all to go to the Rally. It must have worked as there were three of us from England on the Rally trip that had been to Iceland and one from Wales!
This trip is more educational and this year focused on exploring leadership in the age of artificial intelligence and digital transformation in rural areas. It was more classroom based but you had a mix of both worlds because you got to go out on excursions and stay with a host family.
The Iceland trip was all farm visits or going to tourist destinations and Nepal was a real eye-opener. I was only 18 when I went and I don't think I even knew Nepal was a third world country. That trip gave me some real life experience!
The people. You’re all in similar organisations from across the whole of Europe. We’re in our own little Young Farmers’ bubble in England and Wales and I didn't really know anyone from Scotland even. It just makes you realise there's so many more organisations out there with a similar ethos to ours.
Yes. I met one girl from Austria at the start of the week and we had a lot in common as we had visited similar places and she’s studying for an agricultural degree. I might go out and see her one day.
I also hope to stay in contact with my host family. I was on a dairy farm and I was really keen to see cows with bells on – and their farm was full of them.
I volunteered to help milk the cows in the morning because I think you've just got to take every opportunity offered. I really enjoyed going out and helping him milk and feed the cows.
I wrote a thank you card and left it on the table in the morning because I didn't see the mother before we left. She sent me a text just to say it was really lovely to meet me, sorry they didn't get to say goodbye and if they’re ever over in the UK they’ll come and see me. That was so sweet.
The excursion and the host family were definitely my favourites. We went to a green energy farm and learnt about solar and wind power and visited a dairy farm as well. We also went to a research centre for avalanches – which was good too.
My job means I am out on farm visiting people a lot, and the first part of the week at the Rally was classroom based. I spent a lot of time looking out of the window at the mountains thinking how much I wanted to see Switzerland!
But I liked the variety.
There are so many different AI engines out there that I didn't actually know about. We tried using different engines in the sessions and looked at the differences in what information they shared. It highlighted the potential for misinformation and to be careful about sharing personal information as you don’t know where it will be stored.
It’s ideal for supporting minutes though and it helped me write two reports for the yearbook! I wrote out everything I wanted to include and then ran it through an AI engine and it made it sound so much better. Something like that would have taken hours for me to check through.
Creating the video each country was asked to produce to promote what they had learnt about AI took me completely out of my comfort zone. I don't like speaking to the camera. We had a script but I ended up throwing the notebook away as I didn’t like the way I sounded reading it.
I’d recommend the trip because of the variety of experiences and the chance to meet lots of different people from across Europe. The learning element as well as having fun at the international buffet and the talent show makes it a fun week.
You do have to make yourself come out of your comfort zone. We did Morris dancing for the talent show, for example, and we practised four or five times before we did it. I’m definitely not a dancer!
Penrith YFC won Rural Youth Europe’s Inspirational Club of the Year – which was amazing. It was a massive surprise when they called out the club. I knew we were shortlisted but didn’t know we would win. To be there to collect it was incredible.
They said it was really unusual that there was someone there from the county, let alone the club to collect it. The judges were particularly impressed by the club's commitment to creating opportunities for members who are making a lasting impact within the local community.
Last year was our first year bringing back the Penrith Rally. I don't think it had been done for like 20 years.
The awards were on the final night and when I went on my phone afterwards, I saw that message from the host family. It felt like a double win!
Applications for YFC Travel trips in 2027 will open in September.
