Peripheral European rural areas are facing risks of ageing, depopulation and abandonment of rural heritage and resources, rising risks as fires and fires impact with fatal consequences. It is of vital importance to implement joint smart strategies to stop depopulation and empower with entrepreneurship education and internationalization to those that strive to develop projects in those contexts. To create conditions for resilience in these fragile rural areas is urgent. Adult entrepreneurs who have bet for remaining, living and working in little towns and villages are key agents for their survival. Cultural Heritage creative and innovative management may be a link for tourism attraction and an inspiration for new job opportunities. Music festivals, museums, thematic routes and villages, historical recreations are examples of good practices where creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship can impact on rural places and areas.To reinforce the resilience of these rural entrepreneurship projects, it is fundamental to increase innovation, networking and internationalization. Challenges in European depopulated peripheral rural regions are common but solutions to those challenges vary greatly from one region to other, so one of the most relevant benefits of trasnational projects is inspiration and transfer of innovative good practices cases. For this, Cult-Rural+ has worked to introduce rural and neo-rural entrepreneurs to strategic training, networking, community of practice and internationalization. It has focused on the creation of an international community of practice for mutual and peer-to-peer acquisition of competences, for transferring strategic thinking skills and for favouring networking in order to build up strong inter-related communities and start up branding attempts in the areas involved in the project. Objectives: The project Cult-Rural+ has brought together rural municipalities, universities and SMEs working in cultural heritage for rural development. and has integrated a programme of internationalisation, entrepreneurship education and innovative digital strategies in adult education for local development in rural areas in risk of depopulation. It has worked on the need for internationalization, entrepreneurship education, capacity building and networking in European rural areas for the promotion of sustainable and integrative development. The project's thematic scope has encompassed a number of areas and objectives following the lines of the "Council Resolution on a renewed European agenda for adult learning (2011/C 372/01)" : 1. Competences up-skilling & innovative training for adults -in particular the low-skilled and older entrepreneurs and civil servants— to improve their ability to adapt to changes in the labour market and society in rural areas. 2. Glocal networking for sustainable local development (e.g. social eco-markets, European projects and thematic networks). 3. Entrepreneurship education and strategic thinking training to rural entrepreneurs 4. Entrepreneurship education and strategic thinking training to rural municipal majors and councillors for resilience, governance and internationalization 5. Coaching to adult entrepreneurs and civil servants for active citizenship and personal development through lifelong learning 6. Material/immaterial cultural heritage creative management for the creation of integrated touristic added value. Target Groups Cult-Rural+ target groups have been: - Adult low-skilled entrepreneurs showing gaps in internationalization, digital skills - Little towns and villages´ majors, councillors or other functionaries - Rural development agents - Researchers (Demographists, sociologists, anthropologists, economists) - Teachers - Journalists - Rural areas local inhabitants - General public Entrepreneurs and mediators have conformed the core of Cult-rural+ target groups. The project has set up five integrated teams (one in each country) that has joined virtually and presentially in a community of practice. Cultrural+ has developed five international weeks including International Conferences and Linguistical Immersion in which participants have improved in different ways their internationalization skills. Cult-Rural+ has awarded grants and prizes to participation and to the most impact and creative projects.
The project Cult-Rural+ aimed to bring together rural municipalities, universities and SMEs working on cultural heritage for rural development. It aimed to integrate a program of internationalization, entrepreneurship education and innovative digital strategies in adult education for local development in rural areas at risk of depopulation. It sought to address the need for internationalization, entrepreneurship education, capacity building and networking in European rural areas to promote sustainable and integrative development. The project planned to set up five integrated teams (one in each participant country) that joined virtually and in situ in a community of practice. Cultrural+ aimed to develop five international weeks including International Conferences and Linguistical Immersion in which participants would improve in different ways their internationalization skills. It aimed to empower resilience in two target sectors: 1) ADULT ENTREPRENEURS developing projects based on cultural heritage and cultural management in less favored, depopulated European rural regions 2) MEDIATORS (majors, councils, local action groups, local development agents, civil servants, researchers, NGOs) living and acting in little towns
Peripheral European rural areas are facing risks of ageing, depopulation and abandonment of rural heritage and resources, rising risks as fires and fires impact with fatal consequences. It is vital to implement innovative joint strategies to stop depopulation and empower entrepreneurship education and internationalization to those that strive to develop projects in those contexts. Cultural Heritage's creative and innovative management may be a link for tourism attraction and an inspiration for new job opportunities. Music festivals, museums, thematic routes and villages, and historical recreations are examples of good practices where creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship can impact rural places and areas. To reinforce the resilience of these projects, it is fundamental to increase innovation, networking and internationalization. For this, Cult-Rural+ has introduced rural and neo-rural entrepreneurs to strategic training, networking, community of practice and internationalization. It has focused on the creation of a learning community of practice for the mutual and peer-to-peer acquisition of competencies, for transferring strategic thinking skills and for favouring networking in order to build up relevant connections.