On-site learning in the own region has a high educational potential, which should be utilised by promoting the participation of adults, young people and children at regional level. In order to reach this objective, the concept of Rural Action Learning was developed, tested and evaluated in this research project. The evaluation results show that regional action-oriented learning promotes the identity formation and the acquisition of participatory competence. It contributes effectively to the participation at regional level with particular emphasis on an education for sustainable development. A two-group pre-test and post-test design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of Rural Action Learning. Participants in learning activities were asked to complete a questionnaire before and after the activity in order to detect changes in the characteristics of regional identity and participatory competence. In addition, interviews with organizers of learning activities provided comprehensive data to identify factors that influence the effectiveness of these measures.