Project facts
Presentation
RURITAGE establishes a new heritage-led rural regeneration paradigm able to turn rural areas in sustainable development demonstration laboratories, through the enhancement of their unique Cultural and Natural Heritage potential.
RURITAGE has identified 6 Systemic Innovation Areas (pilgrimages; sustainable local food production; migration; art and festivals; resilience; and integrated landscape management) which, integrated with cross-cutting themes, showcase heritage potential as a powerful engine for economic, social and environmental development of rural areas. The knowledge built in 14 Role Models and digested within the project is transferred to 6 Replicators across Europe. Over the project lifetime, RURITAGE involved 17 Additional Role Models and 39 Additional Replicators, ensuring the the RURITAGE paradigm is promoted and implemented across Europe and beyond.
Through a multilevel and multidirectional process of knowledge transfer, Role Models mentor and support the Replicators in the development and implementation of their local rural regeneration strategies and, at the same time, further increase their own knowledge and capacities. A robust monitoring system assists this process.
Local Rural Heritage Hubs, gathering stakeholders and civil society, has been settled in Replicators to work as living labs where heritage-led rural regeneration strategies are co-created and implemented, while in Role Models they reinforce the ownership of cultural and natural heritage.
Both Role Models and Replicators also benefit of the RURITAGE Resources Ecosystem, a set of tools including, among others, a rural landscape mapping tool (RURITAGE Atlas) and a Replication Toolbox within an online and interoperable platform. These tools foster knowledge building, providing evidence and supporting replication and up-scaling activities of the implemented heritage-led regeneration strategies and plans, contributing to mainstream heritage in Regional, National, European and global policies.
Impacts & Results
- Thanks to the implementation of the heritage-led regeneration plans, and to the integrated innovative governance and business models, RURITAGE will contribute to increase tourism and consequently jobs within the tourism industry and will allow the creation of green, heritage-based and locally rooted-jobs through the establishment of new businesses and start-ups (at least 32 new jobs created by 12 new start-ups and companies).
- The capacity-building activities foreseen within the Rural Heritage Hubs (RHHs) will help increase stakeholders and citizens’ skills (at least 50 stakeholders participating in each RHH for a total of at least 1,000; 1,500 Digital Rural Heritage Hub users; at least 120 participants to the knowledge transfer workshop; at least 60 participants to mentoring and learning visits; at least 1,000 people attending webinars).
- Including migration within the SIAs will make RURITAGE able to provide models for inclusion of migrants and refugees, introducing them to the job market.
- The involvement of internet providers in the Rural Heritage Hubs will contribute to improve accessibility of rural areas, thus attracting young skilled people to repopulate rural areas, increasing their innovation and sustainable growth potential.
- The RURITAGE Replication ToolBox will support identification and documentation of new economic & investment opportunities and associated regulative & administrative barriers to be overcome.The RURITAGE Atlas will provide an integrated spatial approach in heritage planning (10,000 interactions with the RURITAGE resources ecosystem).
- Non-project rural communities can improve their skills thanks to: 6 webinars, the RURITAGE Replicators ToolBox and the project material uploaded on RURITAGE Resource ecosystem. Organisation of 2 summer schools and 1 professional master course (at least 1,000 people attending webinars published within the platform. 100 participants to the summer schools and the Professional master courses.
- 25% increasing in the employability of people who have developed technology based skills to cultural heritage in rural areas
- No. of relevant documents published: 1) White Paper on White Paper on „CNH as a driver for sustainable development in EU and beyond; 2) European Vision Paper ‘Thinking beyond the COVID-19 crisis: heritage-based opportunities for rural regeneration’
- No. of European companies deploying services: More than 50 EU companies deploying CNH related products or services.
- At least 20 capacity building actions, more than 25 persons involved in capacity building actions, more than 70 solutions in the Inventory of Lessons Learned, more than 45 experts on RHH and Digital RHH, at least 40 Good Practices identified by the RURITAGE Practices Repository.
- At least 100 migrants involved in training and internship.
- At least 100 people trained on resilience.
- At least 150 people trained on sustainable agriculture and slow food.