The SPACE-NEST project aims to recover and enhance abandoned rural spaces (or transform existing underutilized ones) by giving them new importance and meaning through facilitating the creation and/or empowerment of socially oriented enterprises related to new green economic activities with a specific focus on renewable energy, sustainable art and craft and manufacturing, green buildings and architecture and circular economy that can answer to the challenges and needs (in terms of services connected to sustainability) of rural communities.
The project consists of several actions to promote the building of a European network of regional and local authorities combining the principles of social economy, recognized for its contribution to local development, with the concepts of the New European Bauhaus and the European Green Deal.
In particular, SPACE-NEST aims to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment, map spaces for potential conversion, identify key stakeholders within specific communities and select both local success stories and EU-level models to be shared and exchanged during 3 social economy missions in which 72 social economy stakeholders and 12 project partners staff members will take part. The dynamic exchange initiated during missions will facilitate the co-creation of solutions within the social economy domain and will drive the formulation of targeted territorial action plans connected to the New European Bauhaus, which include concrete actions to be implemented and maintained in the long term. Finally, key recommendations for EU stakeholders will be created as well as a sound dissemination and exploitation strategy for up-take of project results both within the involved regions and at the EU level.
The initiative will be implemented by a complementary partnership of 6 entities, including 3 local administration, 1 sector-representative organisation and 2 NGOs and will take place in Province of Málaga, Province of Bergamo and Primorska Regija.
We are collaborating in the project with the Municipality of Izola and Inovaktiv Ltd.
