On 17 and 18 January, Euromontana was in Burgos for the launch of the ESIRA project, which stands for “Enhancing Social Innovation in Rural Areas”. This Horizon Europe project will run for 48 months from January 2024 and will deal with the introduction of place-based innovative social economy initiatives for rural inclusion and development in marginalised rural areas.

To this end, ESIRA will set up Multi Actor Platforms (MAPs) in 9 pilot areas across Europe, 5 of which are mountainous, each targeting a range of vulnerable groups including women, migrants, Roma, older people, young people and people with disabilities. Each MAP will pilot social economy initiatives aimed at strengthening the inclusion and living conditions of these groups. A large part of the project will be devoted to using these experiences to formulate recommendations for policy makers, to promote knowledge exchange and to encourage replication. Euromontana’s main role will be to lead the activities relevant to policy recommendations.

The project is led by the University of Burgos and includes 4 Euromontana members: Sodebur (the Society for the Development of the Province of Burgos), the Eastern Norway Research Institute, the County of Innlandet and Cooperazione Trentina.

Euromontana is committed to promoting social innovation in our regions and, following the success of our previous SIMRA project, we are thrilled with the launch of ESIRA. We are looking forward to four years of cooperation with organisations that are passionate about making their rural areas more vibrant and inclusive!