Placing the European perspective in the dialogues for sustainable rural development meant that by implementing this project, we wanted to achieve to build stronger future partnerships that create transferable research and educational programs aligned with the European and global perspectives. The overarching goal is to enhance the positive impact of their respective regions. We wanted to learn what a European Residency Program could look like and with whom and how we could establish such us. After this successful prototype, a future fellowship program is envisioned to conduct research aligned with the region's needs, working closely with local actors to develop diverse projects that support the transformation and can help to make further needs more visible. We asked the fellows to address the topic of 'Water' and organised events at both partner locations to address the topic in discussions and screened documentaries at both locations about the drastic issues we face globally on water access and draughts. We wanted to achieve to zoom into the topic and make local solutions visible.
Key motivations include the partner locations being near protected areas, necessitating regenerative approaches and addressing local challenges related to biodiversity. Active exchange of experiences covers integrated nature conservation, regional product development, and education for sustainable development. The project addresses challenges in both German and Portuguese rural areas through on-site meetings, dialogues, workshops, and future-oriented solution approaches. Related to the last exchange via Erasmus +, the partners we established in 2021/22 were motivated to respond to the following need of rural areas for innovations and young adults. The need to address the urgently needed transformation to a climate-friendly and sustainable economy. And to establish more foundation for future and ongoing locally connected dialogue through activities. We focused the prototyping on the overall topic of Water. Which is what connects us all. Both regions have 'water' issues that we wanted to bring forward.