On June 26, 2024, the kickoff for the first two-day international exchange of the Interreg Europe INSPIRE project took place in Olsztynek (PL).
The meeting, hosted by the Local Action Group "South Warmia" (PL), brought together partners from various European regions, including Ballyhoura (IE), IFKA (HU), Zemgale (LV), and Cantabria (ES). From Germany, the Institute for Rural Development Research (IfLS) and the Lahn-Dill-Wetzlar region participated.
The acronym INSPIRE stands for "Innovative and Smarter Policy Instruments for Rural Europe." INSPIRE aims to make rural areas smarter and more sustainable by strengthening the SMART Village approach together. The goal is to improve and integrate policy instruments to enable smarter solutions for rural areas, fostering better, more inclusive living conditions and more innovative enterprises.
The meeting's agenda included comprehensive presentations, discussions on communication strategies, and on-site visits to experience successful examples of innovative rural development. There were also intensive discussions on the innovation capabilities of Local Action Groups (LAGs) and strategies to promote innovation and development in local communities.
You can find the project on our website and on LinkedIn.
Contactpersons at IfLS: Dr. Ulrich Gehrlein (gerhlein[at]ifls.de); Hanna Kramer (kramer[at]ifls.de);
