Qualitative Report

Outward migration of young people is a challenge for rural communities all over the world, but Scotland is leading the mission to identify and create strategies to retain young people in rural areas.

After publishing the quantitative findings from the Rural Youth Project survey in 2018 we have dug deep into its sentiments and collated a host of podcasts, blogs and vlogs to hear directly from young people. What we have found is that there is only so much that black and white statistics can tell you about their lives. We have been humbled and astounded by their honesty and their vision. It has cemented our view that we need to listen more, to support more, and to encourage young people to reimagine rural places.