A successful European energy transition requires coordinated policies, community engagement, and evidence-based innovation replication. The IEECP conference of 15-16 October set out a roadmap for implementing efficient, resilient, fair, and smart energy strategies, ensuring Europe meets its climate objectives, while fostering prosperous and empowered rural communities.

A new policy brief by the European Rural Youth Observatory (EURYO) calls for a transformative shift: from viewing youth mobility as a symptom of rural decline to seeing it as a vital expression of choice and renewal.

Explore the interactive STRAT-Board platform for a visual overview of integrated territorial strategies across Europe. The tool maps out strategies supported under cohesion policy funds during both the 2014–2020 and 2021–2027 programming periods, offering valuable insights for rural, regional, and urban development.

Europe’s demographic resilience depends on empowering rural communities and ensuring that even the smallest villages remain “alive and full of future,” a headline message from the first International Congress on Depopulation of 23–24 September, Aragón, Spain.

The Rural Impact Hub (RIHU) is not a common incubator, it’s a living ecosystem for rural innovation inspired by the natural flow of a river. Born in the Mirandese Plateau, on Portugal’s northern border with Spain, RIHU springs from the desire to transform rural areas into vibrant, sustainable and inclusive places.