On October 30, a virtual event “RURBANIVE – Rural and Urban Synergies in an Innovative Ecosystem”, organized by the cluster and digital innovation center, AgriFood Lithuania, and Kėdainiai Municipality, took place. The event introduced the EU-funded RURBANIVE project, which aims to create the synergy between urban and rural areas, improving quality of life, fostering social innovation, the circular bioeconomy, culture, and public engagement, and developing new policy recommendations.
The goal of RURBANIVE is to strengthen social ties and collaboration between rural and urban areas, paving the way for mutual interactions and reducing the gap between them. This dialogue offers stakeholders an opportunity to assess current processes and envision future scenarios that will further contribute to synergy development and policy recommendations.
At the heart of the RURBANIVE project – one of the country’s strongest economic regions
The project has selected Kėdainiai Municipality—one of the strongest economic regions in the country—as its focus region. The event welcomed members of the Kėdainiai community, technology providers, agricultural sector representatives, the academic community, regional administration officials, and representatives of business and non-governmental organizations.
During the event, the Director of Administration at Kėdainiai municipality, Gintautas Muznikas, delivered a welcoming speech. He congratulated the project’s initiators and participants, inviting everyone to join and support the project’s development, the way Kėdainiai Municipality is already actively contributing. G. Muznikas also emphasized that the project developed by AgriFood Lithuania DIH partners holds exceptional importance for fostering rural-urban synergy in the Kėdainiai region, with a huge potential to significantly improve residents’ quality of life.
Consortium partner AgriFood Lithuania introduced the project’s main objectives and goals, aligned with EU targets for regional development in Kėdainiai. The presentation concluded with a discussion on the project’s engagement opportunities and future perspectives. The event attracted attention not only from the public, regional business, and administration representatives but also from professors at Vytautas Magnus University, who are expected to contribute to the project’s development in the region.
Encouraging public engagement
Attendees were also invited to participate in a RURBANIVE survey to encourage public engagement and gather insights into community needs, challenges, and potential benefits in the region.
One of RURBANIVE’s primary goals is to empower the Kėdainiai region’s community by bringing together initiative groups, organizing co-creation workshops to discuss regional needs, agrifood sector development opportunities, investment and logistics chain issues, and improving circular bioeconomy processes. The project also plans to establish “Startup Villages” in the region, featuring a digital space to ensure access to data and essential information, encourage sharing of ideas, knowledge, and best practices through digital technology and innovation, and foster discussions and policy recommendations.
We invite everyone interested to join this project: “Discover unique, tailored technological solutions to improve your life in the local community,” “Engage – Participate – Create.”
For more information about the project, visit the AgriFood Lithuania DIH and RURBANIVE project websites. Join us and follow project progress on social media.
