REMAKING represented at the European Week of Regions and Cities

Ilaria Mariotti, from Politecnico di Milano, has chaired the ‘Empowering rural areas through innovation and entrepreneurship’ workshop

The European Week of Regions and Cities, the biggest annual Brussels-based event dedicated to cohesion policy, was held this week.

High-level policy sessions, workshops and participatory labs have been organised to discuss common challenges for Europe’s regions and cities and examine possible solutions by bringing together politicians, decision-makers, experts and practitioners of cohesion policy.

The workshop focused on the role played by innovation and entrepreneurship in rural areas. Simone Sasso, economist at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, presented the geographical distribution of startups in Europe focusing on rural areas, underlining the relationship between regional Specialisation and startup. In addition, Ingjerd Skogseld from Vestland County Council in Norway presented an interesting case of a start-up village in Vestland county, its strenghts and weaknesses, and the policy recommendations that the project has defined.

Michelle Marshalian, micro-economist, policy analyst and program manager of the Enhancing Rural Innovation project with the OECD, presented policy analysis on rural innovation and entrepreneurship and underlined the importance of direct, indirect and ancillary policies.