Latest news
People First, Tech Second
Ethical AI is at its best when it stays in the background, making community life easier without stealing the spotlight or private data. The Go Mallusjoki! Ideathon shows how digital tools can quietly
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Join our first PoliRuralPlus webinar: What is JackDaw?
We are pleased to launch the PoliRuralPlus Webinar Series with an introductory session on JackDaw, one of the core tools supporting data management and analysis within the PoliRuralPlus ecosystem.Dur
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The European Commission’s Innovation Radar program recognizes the Multi Actor Approach Tool (MAATool)
Last October, the MAATool (Multi Actor Approach Tool) was recognised by the European Commission’s Innovation Radar platform as a “Business Ready” innovation, signalling that it is ready to enter the
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Digitalisation of Cultural Heritage: Past, Present and Future Come Together in the Sierra and Mancha of Cuenca
What drives us to throw a coin into a fountain centuries after the Romans did it? Why do we still touch millenary stones to attract good luck? What superstitions lie behind some of our most everyday
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Harvest of Ideas
How do you turn 39 grassroots ideas into a seamless, year-round experience pathway that draws people back to Mallusjoki again and again? The Go Mallusjoki! Ideathon (24 July 2025) did exactly that by
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The Spirit of Mallusjoki
What makes a small village feel big? In Mallusjoki, the answer is a living brand rooted in nature, culture, and participation. “The Spirit of Mallusjoki” branding strategy based on Go Mallusjoki! Ide
Read morePoliRuralPlus Main aim
PoliRuralPlus extends and enriches the achievements of its predecessor, the PoliRural, by delving deeper into the complexities of rural and urban interconnectivity. It deploys a sophisticated suite of digital tools, including Artificial Intelligence, Geographic Information Systems, Internet of Things, and advanced data analytics. The project's core mission is to tackle prevalent issues such as administrative fragmentation, inequality, and inefficiencies
in public service coordination, fostering an environment of enhanced cooperation and equal opportunities across rural and urban divides. Central to PoliRuralPlus are 9 pilot projects that serve as proving grounds for an EU-wide integrated approach to territorial planning and action foresight. PoliRuralPlus ambitiously expands its scope to include the urban dimension, thus embracing a broader perspective on development.
PoliRuralPlus Objectives
To develop and implement a foresight-based framework for interregional cooperation and coordination, aimed at overcoming policy barriers and improving governance arrangements to foster integrated and smart rural-urban development strategies
To develop and implement integrated strategies and action plans that enhance the availability of business and innovation opportunities in rural areas, while promoting a more proximate, circular, and green economy and revitalising rural places through better connectivity, improved valorization of cultural and natural heritage, and stronger innovation ecosystems.
To enhance mutual access to services and social connectivity between rural and urban areas, as well as build resilience and capacity for innovation through the implementation of regional action plans and pilot initiatives.
Contribute to the implementation of the European Green Deal, with a specific focus on the farm-to-fork and biodiversity strategies, the organic action plan, the common agricultural policy (CAP), the long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas, the flagship initiative “Research and innovation for rural communities,” and the EU territorial agenda for 2030.
To enhance cross-disciplinary collaboration and leverage the full potential of European Research Infrastructures, EOSC, EU Data spaces, INSPIRE, Copernicus, DIAS, Eurostat, FAO, and other relevant data sources for integrated rural-urban development.
To facilitate mission-oriented experimentation and innovation by leveraging data-driven decision-making, collaborative analysis, and system dynamics to advance the development of a well-being economy based on proximity, circularity, green economy/society, services, culture, landscape and heritage, and mobility.
To create synergies with the New European Bauhaus (NEB) and other EU-funded projects, facilitating ideas flows from urban to rural settings and vice versa.
