“Smart villages”
What does that mean? There are always ways outside the mainstream that lead small communities away from vicious circles and closer to prosperity. All it is needed to be done is initially searching for them. This is what Katheti did, with Fay Orfanidou’s participation in the mission of the Attica Islands Network, and more specifically in the educational meeting of the “Smart Village Leader Network”, which took place on April 5th-8th in Latvia. The main purpose of that meeting was to explore the good practices leading “smart villages” to prosperity.
In October 2021, a similar meeting took place on Poros. Participants of the project from Latvia and Finland visited various “smart” activities in our region, including the “Bridges”exhibition. Meeting at the Syggrou building, they were informed about “smart” actions taking place all over Attica islands. In addition, they watched a 20-minute subtitled excerpt from Katheti’s documentary theater play “Passage”.
What are the “smart villages”?
“Smart villages” are small communities which exploit their strenghts and promote them in innovative ways. Essentially, they benefit from digital and social innovation to foster their transition to a green, thriving and without exclusions society.
What is the “Smart Village Leader Network”?
The “Transnational Cooperation Program ‘Smart Village Leader Network’” is a cooperation of European rural areas with the aim of exchanging experiences and know-how.
A total of six Local Action Groups from three European countries, Finland, Latvia and Greece, with Attica Islands Network, participate. The aim of the program is to support local economies through smart and innovative strategies.
The goals for our region
Inspired by good practices that have been applied in other places, combined with the knowledge of our own advantages, we can “smartly” strengthen both tourism and agricultural production sectors. We can promote local products and link agricultural production and fisheries, for example, with tourism entrepreneurship.
In addition, part of our strengths is both our cultural and environmental heritage. As a result, events and activities that highlight these elements always have the potential to become poles of attraction.
The future of our region
Katheti recognizes our region’s need for economic and social stability in order to improve the standard of living. This is why Katheti supports “smart villages” and participates in the Incircle project. For the same reason, together with Ec(h)o initiative, of which Katheti is also a member, we organized the international workshop Project Resound. The workshop’s aim was to design a model system of sustainable tourism, adapted specifically to characteristics of our region.
Photos: from Fay Orfanidou’s trip to Latvia.
