Climate change adaptation in the rural scene in Europe and in the world is of vital importance. Climate action, especially climate change mitigation is proven an efficient pathway to generate opportunities for rural communities to substantially contribute to more resilient, ecosystem-enhancing (habitats, biodiversity, etc.) and nature-based competitive development. A structured multi-actors dynamic can provide a paramount contribution to the European Green Deal and connected agendas e.g., the EU Biodiversity Strategy, The Farm to Fork Strategy, and the new Common Agricultural Policy: 2023-27, to name but these three. To that end, the project RURALITIES delivers an ecosystem-enhancing and climate action driven expertise and learning framework organised in hubs e.g., the ‘RURALITIES Hubs’, comprising a series of innovative methodologies with the learner at its core, supported by a comprehensive network of living labs, and a blockchain-based digital platform combining the Internet and wireless technologies, to assist engage, connect and empower actors.
The project RURALITIES is an interactive answer to the EU Programme HORIZON EUROPE topic:
HORIZON-CL6-2021-COMMUNITIES-01-02 – Expertise and training centre on rural innovation
RURALITIES aims at gathering all countries from Africa by 2027, expending from the current partnership, to deliver an ecosystem-enhancing and climate action driven expertise and learning framework organised in hubs e.g., the ‘RURALITIES’. The anticipated framework incorporates a series of innovative methodologies with the learner at its core, supported by a comprehensive network of living labs, and a blockchain-based digital platform which combines the Internet and wireless technologies.
The project ‘Climate smart, ecosystem-enhancing and knowledge-based rural expertise and training centres’ (RURALITIES) delivers on cross-governmental, cross-sectoral and cross-scale rural development with a Social Science and Humanities (SSH) approach, embodied by the project’s targeted rural areas referred as ‘Simplified Socio-ecological Systems’, or ‘SIMSES’, a term that was proposed by the HEP under the topic HORIZON-CL6-2021-BIODIV-01-10
RURALITIES implements a whole ecosystem-based, knowledge-based a social sciences and humanities overarching methodology to deliver a multi-points expertise and learning framework supported by a network of rulal communities and facilities which enable the effective capacity building of rural communities towards ensuring the sustainable, balanced and inclusive development of simplified socio-ecological systems (SIMSES), and simultaneously contribute to raise rural communities’ awareness on the variety of source-points driving climate change challenges and the related pathways to overcome or mitigate them. RURALITIES generate and implement a network of rural expertise and training centres’ organised in hubs, knowledge alliance driven by a series of current concept encompassing smart-villages , eco-villages to name but these two, supported by a community of practice, a digital collaborative platform, a citizen-led network of living labs and a citizen science sensing monitoring framework
RURALITIES measurable objectives (MO) are strucxtured as follow:
MO-1, engage, connect, empower actors of targeted SIMSES via activities and mechanisms to co-create a more inclusive, holistic, transparent, ecosystem-based and knowledge-based holistic approach
MO-2, characterise the SIMSES (specific) and national rural landscape (general), the pan-European, pan-African Union rural landscape to facilitate knowledge and structure development goals linked to concrete needs, competences and solutions
MO-3, generate instruments and mechanisms to assist shortening the innovation cycle of identified project tackling the rural communities, made available via the RURALITIES resources platform and framed in the 6 objectives of the ‘EU Taxonomy Regulation’
MO-4, establish the RURALITIES expertise centres on rural innovation with identified key actors of the rural scene in the project SIMSES. Strengthen links and collaboration between rural actors initiatives and other research and innovation actors
MO-5, establish the RURALITIES training centers rooted in a learning framework encompassing disciplines/proficiencies in all the work programme outcomes interlinked with the call and the work programme impacts destination
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement no 101060876. UK participants in Horizon Europe Project RURALITIES are supported by UKRI grant numbers: 10051963 The Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership and 10050988 Earthwatch Europe.
