Bridging Vision and Action: Smart Rural Development That Leaves No Region Behind
Registration Page
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.
Please fill out the following form to complete your registration.
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SecondsBridging 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 and Introductory Speech
- Bulgarian EUSDR Presidency
Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works
- Stefan Spasov (tbc)
Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Bulgaria
Panel Discussion
- Ivaylo Stoyanov (tbc)
EU Danube Strategy - National Coordination Bulgaria/EUSDR Presidency | Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works
- Carlo Vigna
EU Alpine Strategy - Action Group "Connectivity & Accessibility | Autonomous Region Valle d'Aosta
- Tõnis Nirk (tbc)
EU Baltic Sea Reagion Strategy - National Coordination Estonia/EUSBSR Presidency | Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Iva Čaleta Pleša (tbc)
EU Adriatic-Ionian Strategy - Pillar Coordination Sustainable Tourism | Ministry of Tourism and Sport
- DG REGIO
- DG AGRI
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.
Presentation & demonstration
- DG AGRI (tbc)
- Gianluca Lentini & Ossi Kotavaara (tbc)
Poliedra - Politecnico di Milano & University of Oulu
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 & Elena Not
Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)
- 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 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
Matteo Gerosa
Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)
Ossi Kotavaara
University of Oulu
Gianluca Lentini
Poliedra - Politecnico di Milano
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
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.
Venue
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.
Partners
