Excellence Incubator is launching a new project in 2026 titled “Financial Literacy for Rural Youth: Building Democratic Resilience Through Economic Empowerment”, funded by the Civic Innovation Fund (CIF), led by THE CIVICS Innovation Hub, with the support of ERSTE Stiftung. The project aims to empower young people from rural areas with the knowledge and skills to manage money so they can become more independent, confident and active participants in democratic life in their communities.
Why financial literacy for rural youth?
Young people growing up in rural areas often have limited access to high-quality education programmes in financial literacy, entrepreneurship and civic education. At the same time, they face increasing economic pressures – from precarious jobs and the risk of over-indebtedness to the decision of whether to stay in their community or seek opportunities elsewhere. This project is based on the belief that understanding personal finance, saving, investing, risk and long-term planning is not a luxury but a fundamental life competence. When young people understand how the economy of their households, local communities and wider society works, they can make more informed decisions, are less vulnerable to manipulation and are more ready to take responsibility for the common good.
Between April and December 2026, the project will develop and test a dedicated financial literacy curriculum tailored to Generation Z, their learning habits and digital behaviour. The programme will cover topics such as personal budgeting, responsible use of digital banking, understanding loans and interest, saving and investing, as well as the links between financial decisions, social consequences and democratic processes. The content will be designed in an interactive way, through workshops, practical tasks, simulations and real-life scenarios drawn from rural everyday life.
Through four pilot training cohorts, rural youth will have the opportunity to follow a structured learning programme and immediately test their knowledge on their own examples, such as planning a personal or family budget, launching small entrepreneurial initiatives or exploring options for financing further education. In this way, the project supports not only individual financial security but also the sense that young people can become drivers of development in their local communities.
One of the distinctive features of the project is the transnational peer exchange between participants from Croatia and Belgium. Through online meetings, joint activities and experience sharing, young people will be able to compare how their peers in other European countries think about money, security, risk, migration, entrepreneurship and participation in society. This exchange broadens horizons, reduces the feeling of isolation that is common in rural settings and nurtures a sense of belonging to a wider European community.
At the same time, the project is embedded in the wider framework of NECE (Networking European Civic Education), a network coordinated by THE CIVICS Innovation Hub that connects civic education stakeholders across Europe. Through engagement in NECE activities, Excellence Incubator and the project participants gain access to inspiring practices, new partnerships and resources that go beyond national borders.
Open resources for long-term impact
To ensure long-term impact and broad accessibility, the project will produce an open-access digital toolkit and a facilitator guide. The tools, materials and methodologies developed during the project will be made publicly available so that schools, NGOs, youth leaders, local initiatives and other stakeholders in Croatia and beyond can use them. In this way, the project becomes a reusable resource that can be adapted to diverse local contexts rather than a one-off intervention.
Thanks to the support of the Civic Innovation Fund, a unique European pooled fund for innovative civic education projects, as well as ERSTE Stiftung, initiatives in financial and civic education gain the opportunity to move beyond local pilots and become part of a broader European effort to strengthen democratic resilience. In this sense, financial literacy is not only about managing money but also about building greater autonomy, responsibility and active participation of young people in democratic processes.
Youth as drivers of change
“Financial Literacy for Rural Youth: Building Democratic Resilience Through Economic Empowerment” is built on a simple but powerful idea: when rural youth understand financial systems, their own options and the risks they face, they are better equipped to resist populism, manipulation and resignation. Instead of remaining passive observers, they become informed citizens who know how to ask questions, demand accountability and participate in decisions that shape their lives.
The project aims to spark exactly this kind of change: helping young people recognise their own strength and potential, see how financial and democratic resilience go hand in hand, and become catalysts of a fairer, more inclusive and more resilient society in their communities.
The project “Financial Literacy for Rural Youth: Building Democratic Resilience Through Economic Empowerment” is funded by the Civic Innovation Fund (CIF), a unique European pooled fund of THE CIVICS Innovation Hub. CIF is supported by the ERSTE Foundation.
