RURCODE focuses on improving media education and raising awareness about children’s rights online, especially in rural communities in Spain and Belgium, promoting their safety, resilience, and informed participation in digital spaces. During the two-year project, children and adolescents aged 8 to 16 will receive practical tools to analyze the information they consume, identify disinformation, and engage more consciously in digital environments. To achieve this, educational materials on digital and media literacy will be developed and tested in workshops held in schools and youth centers. These sessions will allow the materials to be evaluated, improved based on feedback, and finalized for wider use.
Additionally, train-the-trainer sessions will be held in Cantabria, Valencia, and Brussels, so that teachers and youth professionals can apply these methodologies in their own contexts.
The RURCODE consortium is made up of four European organizations:
- Fundación Maldita.es (Spain)
- Federación Valenciana de Municipios y Provincias (Spain)
- La Columbeta (Spain)
- Connect Brussels (Belgium)
What will Fundación Maldita.es contribute?
Fundación Maldita.es will be responsible for overall project management and will lead the development of educational content and resources on media literacy and disinformation, ensuring that the materials are practical, accessible, and replicable. The foundation will also contribute its expertise by organizing train-the-trainer sessions in Brussels, Valencia, and Cantabria. In addition, it will support the project’s communication and dissemination efforts to ensure that the materials reach as many people as possible.
How is the project funded?
RURCODE is co-financed at 90% by the European Union with €321,358.32 through the CERV – Call for Proposals on Rights of the Child and Children’s Participation (CERV-2025-CHILD). Fundación Maldita.es will receive €98,108.51 to carry out its activities between February 2026 and January 2028.
The “RURCODE” project is co-financed by the European Union. The opinions and views expressed in this note are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the funding agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.