The Horizon Europe project titled “Supporting the inclusion, wellbeing, and growth of rural areas through multi-actor Smart Village labs for enhanced governance frameworks” (INSPIRE) has been officially launched. INSPIRE aims to lay the foundations for the development of “Smart Villages” and policy measures that will address social exclusion and enhance the wellbeing of rural residents, especially that of vulnerable groups.
The first phase of INSPIRE, known as the investigation phase, involves partners examining the concept and causes of social exclusion, identifying the social needs (e.g., educational, housing, cultural) of rural area inhabitants, and assessing the available social services to meet these needs. This phase will also explore potential solutions from the social economy sector.
In the second stage of INSPIRE, the intervention phase, participatory “Smart Village labs” will be established. Members of these labs will be rural residents who, guided by the project’s pilot partners, will develop pilot social economy initiatives to address their social needs.
The kick-off meeting for this three-year project took place on October 9 in Brussels, where all 18 partners participated with great enthusiasm. They discussed the project’s objectives, the work schedule, and the actions to be carried out within the seven work packages.
MedINA is one of the pilot partners and is responsible for administering all research and implementation activities related to the communities of Konitsa and Kythera. MedINA’s team, which, among others, presented the profile of the two communities, will also oversee the formation of the labs in all communities that are part of the project.
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