Author: Leticia Abarca (AEIDL)
Do you want to showcase how your village is promoting innovation and entrepreneurship to improve the local community? If so, register your village on the Startup Village Initiative of the European Commission and the Joint Research Centre. By doing so, your village can appear on the map of rural innovation, which will help identify and support rural areas with innovation and entrepreneurship potential.
The EU recognizes the importance of understanding how innovation works in rural areas to strengthen communities. As part of the EU’s long-term vision for research and innovation in rural areas, the Startup Village Forum was jointly launched by the European Commission and the Joint Research Centre. The 2023 edition of the forum, which took place on February 28 in Brussels, provided an open and inclusive platform for institutions and stakeholders to discuss ways to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in rural areas.
A recent report has defined the concept of a Startup Village as a place that fosters innovation and ambitious entrepreneurship to unlock development potential and support well-being in rural areas. The report also emphasizes the crucial role of the ecosystem in innovation and entrepreneurship.
To complement this initiative, the EU has developed a Startup Village Mapping Tool that provides an overview of villages that have identified themselves as Startup Villages and the information they have provided. If you missed the call for expressions of interest that was launched in February 2023, don’t worry! The call remains open, and you can still present your village. Take advantage of this opportunity to showcase how your village is contributing to rural innovation!
