From 22 to 26 June 2026, the University of Porto hosted the 4th European Rural Geographies Conference, bringing together researchers and practitioners to discuss resilience, innovation and sustainability in rural territories.
Representing SHINE 2Europe, Angela Freitas presented the contribution “Bridging the digital divide in rural areas through co-creation: evidence from the GUARDIANS project”.
The presentation introduced the co-creation framework developed within GUARDIANS to support the acceptance and uptake of digital technologies among small and medium-sized farms. Implemented across six pilot sites in five European countries, the approach brings together farmers, cooperatives, technology providers and other rural innovation actors to ensure that digital solutions respond to farmers’ real needs, local conditions and sustainability challenges.
The work presented at the conference draws on the Social Innovation sessions with external stakeholders and local workshops, which involved more than 300 participants across the project pilot sites. These activities have helped identify context-specific requirements and pathways for the nine digital solutions being developed by the project, while strengthening trust, ownership and farmers’ willingness to engage with new technologies.
Ângela presented during a parallel session dedicated to Digital Transition, Innovation and Rural Infrastructures, alongside contributions addressing smart rural governance, social innovation, smart villages and new approaches to rural services. The session provided an important space to reflect on how participatory governance and collaborative approaches can connect rural realities with wider innovation and policy processes.
The session was also a valuable opportunity to exchange ideas with colleagues from AEIDL (European Association for Innovation in Local Development) who presented insights from the RURACTIVE and FUTURAL projects on the barriers, drivers and enabling conditions for smart rural governance. The discussions highlighted several shared interests, particularly around co-creation, inclusive rural innovation and the role of EU projects in helping successful initiatives grow beyond isolated experiments.
To learn more about GUARDIANS and follow the project’s latest activities and opportunities, visit the project website: https://guardians-project.eu/