Bridging Vision and Action: Smart Rural Development That Leaves No Region Behind

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We are looking forward to welcoming you to the event Bridging Vision and Action: Smart Rural Development That Leaves No Region Behind in Sofia on 24 March 2026.
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Bridging Vision and Action: Smart Rural Development That Leaves No Region Behind

March 24, 2026 / 9:00AM - 4:00PM (EET)

The Program

Bridging Vision and Action: Smart Rural Development That Leaves No Region Behind will address what it takes to support successful and smart rural development and how we can bring our vision into concrete action.

We will:

  • discuss with you the future of (smart) rural development,
  • demonstrate good practices of evidence-based decision-making, and
  • share and test approaches for smart rural development.

Registration of Participants & Welcome Coffee

Welcome Addresses

  • Angelina Todorova-Boneva
    Minister of Regional Development and Public Works | EU Danube Strategy Presidency Bulgaria
  • Ivan Ivanov
    Mayor of Sevlievo
  • Andrea Ikić-Böhm
    Austrian Ambassador to Bulgaria | Ministry for European and International Affairs, Austria

Keynote

“Smart Rural Transitions: The Strategic Role of Community-Led Local Development”

  • Stefan Spasov
    Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Bulgaria

Moderation

Claudia Singer-Smith
EU Danube Strategy - Priority Area "Institutional Capacity and Cooperation" | City of Vienna

Panel Discussion

  • Ivaylo Stoyanov
    EU Danube Strategy Presidency Bulgaria | Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works
     
  • Carlo Vigna
    EU Alpine Strategy Action Group 5 "Connectivity and Accessibility" | Valle d´Aosta Autonomous Region
     
  • Esa Kokkonen
    EU Baltic Sea Strategy Policy Area "Innovation" | The Baltic Institute of Finland
     
  • Iva Čaleta Pleša
    EU Adriatic-Ionian Strategy Pillar 4 "Sustainable Tourism" | Ministry of Tourism and Sport
     
  • Johan Magnusson
    European Commission - DG REGIO

Moderation

Peter Niederer
Swiss  Center for Mountain Regions

The World Café Sessions aim at exploring potentials and needs for smart rural development in the future in order to better address territorial polarisation and territorial cohesion with regards to the Multi-annual Financial Framework 2028-2034.

Introductory Presentation & Real-Life Examples

The session aims at providing a better understanding on how smart rural development could be put into practice by presenting the approach of ‘Smart Innovation Packages’ developed in the SMART ERA project and to showcase how this approach has been put into practice with the example of the Devetaki Plateau in Bulgaria.

  • Matteo Gerosa
    Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)
  • Gianluca Lentini & Ossi Kotavaara
    Poliedra - Politecnico di Milano & University of Oulu
  • Iva Taralezhkova
    Devetaki Plateau Association

Interactive Guided Workshop

The workshop provides the opportunity to test the Smart Innovation Package approach to better understand how rural challenges could be addressed with this methodology. Participants will be working together in small groups and will be supported by SMART ERA partners.

Presentation and Q&A

The session presents the outline of the up-coming SMART ERA 2nd Open Call for Follower Micro-Pilots that supports rural areas in developing their own smart rural development approach.

  • Yolanda Moreno
    Funding Box

Wrap-up

  • Claudia Singer-Smith
    EUSDR Priority Area 10 "Institutional Capacity and Cooperation" | City of Vienna

The Speakers

Here you find a listing of all our speakers and moderators at Bridging Vision and Action: Smart Rural Development That Leaves No Region Behind.

Speakers

Iva Čaleta Pleša
EU Adriatic-Ionian Strategy Pillar 4 “Sustainable Tourism” | Ministry of Tourism and Sport
Matteo Gerosa
Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)
Andrea Ikić-Böhm
Ambassador to Bulgaria | Ministry of European and International Affairs, Austria

Photocredit: BMEIA/Michael Gruber

Ivan Ivanov
Mayor of Sevlievo
Esa Kokkonen
The Baltic Institute of Finland
Ossi Kotavaara
University of Oulu
Gianluca Lentini
Poliedra - Politecnico di Milano
Johan Magnusson
European Commission - DG REGIO
Yolanda Moreno
Funding Box
Elena Not
Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)
Stefan Spasov
Ministry of Agriculture and Food | Bulgaria
Ivaylo Stoyanov
Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works | Bulgaria
Iva Taralezhkova
Devetaki Plateau Association
Angelina Todorova-Boneva
Minister of Regional Development and Public Works | EU Danube Strategy Presidency Bulgaria
Carlo Vigna
EU Alpine Strategy Action Group 5 “Connectiveness” | Valle d’Aosta Autonomous Region

Practical Information

Location
Grand Hotel Sofia
1, Gurko Street, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria

The event will be held in English language.
The event will be free of charge, but registration is required.

Any more questions?
Please contact us at info@pa10-danube.eu

Venue

google maps

Getting there by public transport:

Take the M2 Metro line (Blue line) or M4 Metro line (Yellow line) to Serdika station. The hotel is within walking distance (approx. 10 minutes), situated directly next to the City Garden.

About

Bridging Vision and Action: Smart Rural Development That Leaves No Region Behind is organised by representatives of the 4 EU macro-regional strategies and the SMART ERA project. 

The event is held under the auspices of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Danube Strategy and supported by funds from the City of Vienna, Horizon Europe, Interreg Danube Region, and Interreg Baltic Sea.