Rural and mountain areas suffer from depopulation and economic decline due to a lack of (public) services and digital infrastructure and skills. Digitalisation represents a major opportunity for these regions to increase their attractiveness as places to work and live, compared to urban centres. SmartCommUnity aims to create a transnational community to change both the practices and perceptions of smart rural areas. In close cooperation with the European Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP), the project partners will facilitate capacity building of rural areas, promote existing digital tools and solutions and develop innovative and interactive digital tools to foster the “smart transition” of Alpine areas, taking into account community and sustainability aspects.
The SmartCommUnity Project Kick-Off Meeting taking place on 18-19 January in Ljubljana, at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
This first in-person project meeting will bring together the (11) Project Partners, along with representatives of the Slovenian Ministry of Digital Transformation, EUSALP Action Groups, the EUSALP Youth Council, the Joint Secretariat and the Observers participating in the Project, to discuss and kick-start the project activities.
The meeting will address the activities of the project, in particular the “smart community concept” and his metodology for creating a sustainable smart rural futures.
Project is financed by the Interreg Alpine Space Programme 2021-2027, for a period of 3 years.