Smart villages Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Op-Ed | From Declaration to Action – Rethinking Rural Power in EU Policymaking

July 8, 2025 Edina Ocsko

Rural voices still seem to go unheard in EU policymaking. The Rural Pact Coordination Group proposes a new tool for rural stakeholders to take the power back: the Declaration on the Future of Rural Areas and Rural Development Policy in the European Union. After a recent test drive, Edina Ocsko unpacks why rural voices struggle to shape policy and identifies some concrete next steps. Op-ed by Edina Ocsko. […]

No More Business As Usual For Future Rural Development Policy

October 31, 2024 Edina Ocsko

Negotiations on future policy options at the EU level are ongoing, setting the basic framework for future rural development policy. In this op-ed, Edina Ocsko of Smart Village Network Services / E40, who is Vice-Chair of the Rural Pact Coordination Group (RPCG), argues that the EU must take a more proactive approach in delivering stronger supports for rural areas. […]

Social Innovation: A Must-Have For Marginalised Rural Areas

March 22, 2020 Lauren Mosdale

What lies behind the transformational changes in marginal rural areas? What are the social, economic and cultural drivers of “Smart Villages”, which have emerged as another facet of the EU’s support for community-led development? Lauren Mosdale shares the findings of the SIMRA project. […]

Rural Dialogues | Smart Villages: How to Make Them Really Work

September 11, 2019 Edina Ocsko

How are smart villages different from and add value to existing initiatives and policy tools? Edina Ocsko proposes practical steps to develop policies in support of multi-funded integrated smart village strategies. […]

Rural Dialogues | Stochastic System Collapse Part 2 – the Social and Solidarity Economy Alternative

September 5, 2019 ARC

In part one, we outlined just how bad the situation is regarding climate and biodiversity collapse, as well as the people-driven responses to this – from extinction rebellion to the school strikes. Beyond these alarm-raising direct action initiatives, what is there out there to become the system change that’s so clearly needed? Here in part 2 we introduce the social and solidarity economy, and the interesting lessons we can learn from separatist movements from the past and present, from Quebec to Ireland. […]

Rural Dialogues | Smart Villages – Turning Momentum into Support for Local Action

July 15, 2019 ARC

The momentum behind Smart Villages continues to grow – both within EU and national policy circles and on the ground among rural communities. The challenge is to translate this momentum into a policy framework that provides fast and flexible tools which meet the needs and expectations of rural communities in different parts of Europe. This will mean avoiding complicated structures and plans, mobilising what exists in each place – and supporting local action rather than words. […]