On November 17th, the FLIARA Project held its final Community of Practice (CoP) online event, bringing together consortium partners and Innovation Ambassadors from across Europe for a morning dedicated to reflection, shared experiences and discussions about the project’s future beyond its formal end. The event opened with a welcome from Project Coordinator, Associate Professor Maura […]
Saschiz, Mureș County, Romania – Rural women from across Romania converged on the village of Saschiz on 30 October 2025 for a landmark event, “From Innovation to Political Action – The Voice of Rural Women”, organised under the FLIARA Project. The gathering successfully transformed local challenges into a national political agenda, advocating for a more
Romanian Rural Women Demand Political Voice at FLIARA Event Read More »
By VÍCTOR R. MARTÍNEZ The Final Conference of the FLIARA Project opened in Brussels at the European Committee of the Regions on October the 17th, gathering more than one hundred participants in-person and over two hundred via streaming from across Europe and beyond. Researchers, policymakers, ambassadors, civil society actors, and innovation practitioners came together with
The Northeast of Scotland successfully hosted the 6th European Rural Parliament (ERP) from October 20th to 23rd, 2025. The historic assembly—the first to be hosted in Scotland—brought together over 400 delegates from 43 European countries to advance grassroots policy and cooperation under the theme ‘Strength from Opportunity: Rural Community Solutions to Global Challenges’. Amplifying the
Tucked away in the serene forests of southern Sweden, Ödevata Gårdshotell stands as a living, breathing tribute to transformation. Once an abandoned facility with a layered past—having served as everything from a refugee camp to a penitentiary—this historic site has become a haven of sustainability, innovation, and rural reinvention. At the helm of this inspiring
Malin Axelsson: Pioneering a Greener Future from the Heart of Småland Read More »
In the quiet village of Tiistenjoki, nestled in the Finnish municipality of Lapua, a former dancer and psychotherapist has built something extraordinary. Sonja Jokiranta, founder of Fields of Creativity (Luovuuden Lakeus), has transformed her lifelong dream of living in the countryside into a social enterprise that is reshaping lives, families, and even perceptions of what
Fields of Creativity: The Innovation Journey of Sonja Jokiranta Read More »
A workshop at the 2025 European Ecovillage Gathering 2025, hosted by the Global Ecovillage Network Europe, brought a focus on the essential role of women in shaping a sustainable future for rural communities. The event, held on August 15th of the gathering, provided a platform for participants to engage with critical issues surrounding gender equality
Ecovillage Gathering Highlights Women’s Role in Rural Futures Read More »
On the rolling green hills of Slovenia’s Primorska region, a modest former military guardhouse has been transformed into something extraordinary: a thriving hub of solidarity, learning, and global cooperation. At its heart is Petra Matos, a geographer whose life mission is as clear as the summer skies that stretch above her community project, Park Istra.
Petra Matos: Planting Seeds of Solidarity in Rural Slovenia Read More »
Early-stage female entrepreneurs in rural Ireland are being invited to apply for the eleventh cycle of the ACORNS programme, a peer-support initiative backed by Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Applications are open until midnight on Monday, 22 September 2025. The ACORNS (Accelerating the Creation Of Rural Nascent Start-ups) initiative is designed to
By VÍCTOR R. MARTÍNEZ Brussels, Belgium – June 25, 2025 – The vital role of women’s entrepreneurship in fostering resilient economies across the European Union’s rural, island, and outermost regions took centre stage today at a public hearing convened by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), with the participation of
