In this third RURITAGE public webinar experts from RURITAGE consortium - Dr Aitz Egusquiza from Tecnalia and Dr Irina Pavlova from UNESCO - will share RURITAGE findings with the webinars’ participants.

RURITAGE paradigm for regenerating rural communities lies on the identification of six powerful drivers that boosted regeneration in rural communities all around the world. These six drivers identified in the project are the so-called RURITAGE Systemic Innovation Areas, namely Pilgrimage, Local Food Production, Art and festival, Landscape Management, Migration and Resilience.

The initial stage of RURITAGE paradigm is Knowledge Building. 20 Role Models, recognised as territories that achieved rural regeneration through their cultural and natural heritage, have been studied through an extensive data collection, analysis and interpretation. Based on this, RURITAGE built a Practices repository and an Inventory of Lessons Learned containing insights of Role Models practices, business models, governance framework and regeneration mechanism. This analysis refined and validated the characterisation of the RURITAGE paradigm through the six RURITAGE Systemic Innovation Areas.

After gathering, analysing and organising the data obtained from the Role Models, the next stage of RURITAGE paradigm is transferring that knowledge among the Role Models and the Replicators to foster capacity building and build their rural regeneration strategies. This process is not unidirectional, but a dynamic exchange and mutual learning strategy where Role Models, as roots of knowledge, mentor and support the Replicators while sharing experiences amongst them, allowing the further development of their own knowledge and capacities.