Fifth Stakeholder Meeting in Western Greece on September 19

On the 19th of September 2024, our regional partner, the University of Patras, held their fifth Down to Earth Regional Stakeholder Meeting at the Directorate of Rural Economy of the Region of Western Greece, in Patras.

The event counted with the presence of the Deputy Governor Mr. Andreas Filias, among other public officials and academics.

Throughout the meeting, the findings from the first year of the Down to Earth project implementation were discussed. The project team was also briefed by policy officials on the current planning of the Region, particularly on the topic of rural revitalization and the support of local agricultural producers within the current policy instruments. After being presented with some of the project's identified good practice cases, Deputy Governor Mr. Andreas Filias expressed interest in a detailed presentation of the intervention methodology for smart villages developed in the Region of Galicia, Spain.

Additionally, Professor Evangelos Papadakis proposed key strategies to enhance producer clusters and small and medium entreprises (SMEs) of local products, to strengthen the regional economy in areas affected by climate risks and rural depopulation.