Smart Rural 27

Since the community participated in innovative digital projects like "Smart Country Side", "Digital competencies for citizens in rural areas", "Dorf.Zukunft.Digital" and "Dorf.Gesundheit.Digital" Ovenhausen became a digital village and is known as a lighthouse example for future-oriented village development. About 800 participants are using regularly digital applications for communication in the village and in other neighboring villages. Ovenhausen was awarded for being an "integrative commune" and the village is recognized for its networking and cooperation.

Listen to podcast on Lormes - a municipality located in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Region, France. “Let’s Invent together the rural territory of the Future” is the slogan of the project, initiated by Lormes in 2015. Lormes has an ambition to be a village of the future. Connected to global digital opportunities but also galvanising the community to co-create priority local services. The fiber-optic internet in every street and a multi-functional digital hub/fab-lab and related services, create new opportunities for business, local government modes, and the rural community.

Listen to the podcast conducted by Hans-Olof Stalgren with Mette Adolfsson (project manager) and Ulf Cronsjö (assistant manager/business developer) talking about how the village association was formed, how basic services were developed and brought back to the Häradsbäck and about their plans to build a pilot project and eventually construct a solar voltaic park for energy production and storage.

Häradsbäck is a small village not so far from the municipality center of Älmhult. It has a several decades-long history of strategic development. The aim is to be more attractive, and more resilient, offering better access to services, creating jobs, and fostering a spirit of togetherness. Through the village association, a joint limited company has been formed. The shareholders are 10 different associations (sports, farmers, culture etc). Many projects have been implemented, owned, and managed by the company. Today there exists a grocery store, a café, a library, and housing for the elderly, all run by the village company. There is also an "all-service company", an activity park, and an activity hall with a bar, boule, billiard, shuffleboard etc.