Regenerative rural futures through culture and creativity: insights from Creative Skills Week
- Rural Pact
- Rural Revitalisation Platform
- Stronger Rural Areas
- Resilient rural areas
- Connected rural areas
- Prosperous rural areas
- Sports, Culture and leisure
- Entrepreneurship
- Social economy
- Tourism and heritage
- Digital
This year’s edition of Creative Skills Week, held in Brussels, gathered stakeholders from Europe’s cultural and creative sectors, policymakers, educators and industry leaders to explore how creative skills can help address complex societal challenges, including in rural areas.
© European Union, 2026
As part of the event, a panel discussion on 8 September was devoted to the creative industry’s role in boosting entrepreneurship and cultural activities in rural areas. Participants noted that opportunities for entrepreneurship and resources are available, but said good examples are not sufficiently showcased.
They highlighted the importance of building resilience in rural areas and mobilising shared resources. Challenges pinpointed included ensuring an intersectional policy approach and the complexity of information at EU level for people on the ground.
Opportunities in tourism and the social economy
Rural tourism was spotlighted as an opportunity for entrepreneurship; it can support the creative and cultural sectors in rural areas to regenerate local heritage and traditions while developing economic activity.
The discussion also underscored the value of the social economy and community-led initiatives, emphasising the opportunities available in the areas of digital, traditional crafts and social innovation in particular. Participants stressed that the social economy can help ensure the people living in rural areas participate in creating value and benefit from it.
The EU Pact for Skills’ large-scale skills partnerships were highlighted as ways of developing economic activity in tourism and the social economy in rural areas through models that benefit local communities.
The Rural Pact Support Office contributed to the discussion, presenting the Rural Pact Community Platform as a space for exchange and cooperation among rural stakeholders, notably via the Community Groups on culture and creativity and on tourism, and as a showcase for good practices such as Rural Radicals.
Explore the latest Rural Pact resources on culture and tourism and join the Community Groups to connect and exchange with peers.