European Rural Community Alliance - ERCA

We are very happy to announce the official launch of our brand-new website: ruralcommunities.eu! 🌍✨ Our new online home is designed to better serve our amazing rural community network, providing you with the latest updates, resources and opportunities to connect. We invite you all to explore the site and discover everything it has to offer. Check it out and let us know what you think! Your feedback is invaluable as we continue to grow and support rural communities across Europe. Visit us at www.ruralcommunities.eu and join us on this exciting journey! Best wishes Tom Jones, ERCA President, and the Team #ERCA #RuralCommunities #RuralEurope

🏘️Are 𝗬𝗢𝗨 ready to make a difference in rural areas? 💡Do you have an innovative idea for an impactful 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 in one of the following domains? · 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆, 𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 · 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 · 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 · 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 · 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ⏱️The time you've been waiting for has come: FUTURAL single Open Call is 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘, offering an impressive total budget of €𝟭.𝟮 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻! 🪙At least 𝟭𝟬 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 will be funded with a max of 𝟭𝟮𝟬.𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 to develop their own digital SS within the five (5) FUTURAL SS domains. 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻? FUTURAL will accept applications from small consortia consisting of 𝟮 - 𝟰 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 involving: · At least 1 technical party (e.g., SMEs, startups, research organisations) and · At least 1 rural community (e.g., Municipalities, Regional authorities, NGOs, etc). ❗The Open Call will be active until September 30, 2024, 17.00 CET. 📑 Access all essential documents and apply here:➡️ https://lnkd.in/dXi8PaPZ

Today we launched a new report 'Compass for Local Empowerment in Rural Areas'. This report, co-produced with European Partnership for Citizen-empowerment (SBE) and the European Rural Community Alliance (ERCA) is a response to the Long-term Vision for Rural Areas and the European Rural Pactobjective of bringing these policies closer to local communities. The Compass looks for practical ways to reach to the grassroots, bringing the Rural Pact closer to citizens. The full report is available to download on our website www.ruralcommunities.eu #CommunityEmpowerment #RuralResilience

📄Check out the latest paper by OECD - OCDE on access to services in rural towns and villages: https://bit.ly/4cOJc80 👉Discover how geography, transportation infrastructure, and service provision are essential for regional development policies. #RuralPact #RuralVisionEU

On June 18-19, Tom Jones and Vanessa Halhead represented ERCA at the first annual meeting of the #HorizonEurope FUTURAL Project in Pisa, Italy. The meeting, attended by all of the project partners, updated on progress and planning for the coming period. #ResilientCommunities #SmartSolutions

We attended the annual Partner meeting of FUTURAL Project this week in #Pisa #Italy. Great to hear about all the progress made to date and the work ahead over the next few months. #ResilientCommunities #SmartSolutions

All presentations and recordings of European Rural Pact Policy Lab on Bringing #RuralPact closer to Citizens are now available on their website 👇. We were delighted to attend and take part in the discussions and workshops. #RuralVisionEU Prepare AISBL European LEADER Association for Rural Development - ELARD EU CAP Network AEIDL (European Association for Innovation in Local Development) FUTURAL Project European Economic and Social Committee

ERCA was honored to attend the 2024 Swedish Rural Parliament, held from May 24th to 26th under the headline ‘Towards a Balanced Country – in a New Era’. This extraordinary event gathered around 860 delegates, sometimes exceeding 1000, representing grassroots rural communities from across Sweden. Organised by the Swedish rural movement HSSL, which comprises 5000 village associations, it truly reflects the voice of rural Sweden.📣 Delegates from several ERCA members were present, including our Coordinator Vanessa Halhead, who has attended many SRPs in the past, our Finnish board member Reena, and our Swedish board member Irene Oskarsson, Co-President of HSSL. The event featured an extensive programme, including a significant political debate with members of the main parties on the panel. With the EU elections approaching, they were eager to promote their rural positions, although responses indicated several key areas needing attention. Keeping rural issues high on the political agenda is critical, and this event highlighted the dedication of our wonderful rural movements! Check out the photos to see the vibrant discussions and activities. 👇 #SwedishRuralParliament2024 #ERCA #RuralCommunities #HSSL #RuralSweden

Our coordinated Vanessa Halhead repesented ERCA this weekend at the #Swedish #RuralParliament. What a fantastic event organised by our Swedish member HSSL. Well done to all involved 👏👏👏. It was great to meet up with other ERCA members from #Finland #Denmark and #Iceland as well as other colleagues from across Europe. European LEADER Association for Rural Development - ELARD Prepare AISBL European Rural Pact EU CAP Network EU agri European Committee of the Regions European Economic and Social Committee FUTURAL Project

We're excited to kick off our Policy Lab 'Bringing the Rural Pact closer to citizens'! bit.ly/4bCxDjF Couldn’t make it? No problem! Follow the event online: https://lnkd.in/ds4ztXvR Today, we'll develop proposals to enhance the #RuralVisionEU & #RuralPact locally by: 👉Identifying key ingredients for a successful Rural Pact implementation & approaches to make it happen 👉Exploring inspiring local initiatives Watch the plenary discussions live!