Rural Connect Leaflet
Rural Connect
Empowering territorial leaders for cross-community development
Rural Connect is a European initiative designed to empower Territorial Leaders (TLs) in rural areas, equipping them with the skills needed to lead sustainable and inclusive local development.
In a Europe where rural regions cover nearly 45% of the territory (44.7%) but face a growing demographic crisis and an ageing population, the project proposes a revitalisation model based on intergenerational collaboration and the integration of remote workers and digital nomads.
Our vision
We believe that remote workers can be a powerful driver of revitalisation for inland regions.
However, to avoid risks such as gentrification and increased living costs, it is essential that this phenomenon is managed sustainably.
Our goals is to equip Territorial Leaders with key competences to attract and manage newcomers, particularly remote workers and digital nomads, and promote intergenerational civic engagement and community sustainable development of rural territories.
What are we developing?
Through a transnational partnership between Italy, Spain, and Portugal, the Rural Connect project will produce three concrete results:
# Innovative Toolkit
A collection of best practices, strategies, and practical tools for managing community engagement and the sustainable integration of remote workers and digital nomads.
A 3-day residential workshop and a pilot testing phase to test the developed methodologies in real-world scenarios and strengthen the capacities of local leaders.
Three local conferences in Italy, Spain, and Portugal will showcase project results, encourage exchange among territorial leaders and local stakeholders, and strengthen dialogue on inclusive and sustainable rural development.
Survey Results
Understanding the needs of Territorial Leaders
The results offer insights into current challenges, practices, competences and training needs
related to community activation and sustainable rural development.
A European Partnership
ITALY
LEADING PARTNER
NATworking is a non-profit association specializes in revitalizing mountain and rural areas by fostering intergenerational relationships and supporting the well-being of remote professionals. They have developed a national network of “NAThost” spaces to facilitate co-living and coworking experiences.
SPAIN
PARTNER
Wazo Coop operates within the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) and Creative Cultural Industries (CCI) to generate positive social transformation in low-population rural areas. They promote participatory leadership and focus on vulnerable groups, including youth, women, and the elderly.
PORTUGAL
PARTNER
VIBE Madeira (Valorization, Inclusion, Well-being, and Entrepreneurship) is dedicated to promoting active citizenship and sustainable local community development. Its mission is to foster social, political, and economic inclusion, combat social inequalities, and promote equal opportunities, empowerment, and participation for all.
PRIVACY
The personal data provided ruralconnecteu@gmail.com will be processed solely to inform you about the activities and developments of the Rural Connect project.
Email addresses may be shared only among the project partners, exclusively for project-related purposes, and will not be used for commercial purposes nor shared with external third parties.
Data processing complies with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).
You may withdraw your consent or request data deletion at any time.
To stay updated on the project, follow the partners on social media!
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. [2025-1-IT02-KA210-ADU-000352832]
All resources are published under the Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0.