The aim of the project was to contribute to the digital transformation of rural areas. The focus was on developing the cross-cutting skills needed to implement an inclusive smart village strategy and enable rural regions to participate equally in digital innovation processes. Another goal was to improve access to information and learning opportunities in rural areas through a toolbox and scenario workshops. Overall, the project aimed to empower smart village initiatives to actively shape their own digital and social transformation, increase their adaptability to technological change, and contribute to improved quality of life and sustainable regional development in the long term.
The project addresses structural challenges in rural areas, particularly the digital divide between urban and rural regions. The overarching goal was to strengthen the capacity of rural communities to take action and enable them to actively shape and implement smart village strategies. Although many rural regions have considerable social, economic, and ecological potential, this often remains untapped due to a lack of cooperation. The Smart Village approach focuses on local initiatives finding and implementing intelligent solutions to their challenges. Competencies for developing smart village approaches are currently mostly assumed. Only in exceptional cases are competency profiles explicitly defined and developed into concrete measures.