European Charter of Rural Communities

We are an organisation of 28 towns and villages from across Europe. Each town or village is represented through their municipality or council. Only one town or village represents their country. We started in 1989 as 12 villages. It was the concept of the French village of Cissé and was born from the European Union's Twinning process. Through each municipality, each member village represents their country to this unique organisation.

We meet several times each year hosted by one of our member towns under the heading of People meet People. The Meetings are an important connectivity for the citizens of Europe. It allows the citizens to make and renew strong friendships. We express this through many shared activities, including staying with host families. The Meetings are part of two year programmes called Citizens for Europe Programmes; arranged with the European Commission. We collectively seek to understand what it means to be European from the point of view of a small community. We do his through formal discussions and programmes, for example on society; economy; environment.

There are always two Charter Programmes - Youth (18 – 30 years) and Adults. As future leaders it is fundamental our Youth are given a strong voice.

As the European Union grows with new member countries, our role always becomes increasingly relevant to enabling connectivity in Europe. Part of this connectivity has seen the birth and growth of the Friends of Europe Association, which is part of our Charter. This Association cultivates and encourages additional programmes such as exchanges of friendships, schools, sports clubs and participation in each municipalities' festivals.