On 4-5 October partners from all over Europe met for the kick-off meeting of the RUSTIK project, hosted by the project coordinator, the Institute for Rural Development Research in Frankfurt, Germany.
RUSTIK is a four-year transdisciplinary research Horizon Europe project aiming to enable rural communities’ actors and policy makers to design better strategies, initiatives and policies fostering sustainability transitions in rural areas. Considering increasing social and ecological challenges, the project envisages an analysis of current adaption requirements and the support of effective rural policy-making processes. The project will contribute to an advanced understanding of different rural functionalities and characteristics as well as the (future) potentials and challenges of rural areas. Living Labs in 14 European Pilot Regions in 10 European countries will be the central element of an action-oriented multi-actor approach to researching rural diversity and societal transformations.
The kick-off meeting has allowed partners to get to know each other and build trust, and to create a shared understanding of the project’s objectives and results, as well as to take the first steps towards the next four years. Research Associate Neli Georgieva attended the meeting, representing the EPRC RUSTIK team.