rural – Smart & Lean

I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine

Mallusjoki pilot’s aim is to gather a stakeholder panel and carry out actions which will add value to all participants. The pilot builds on Social Exchange theory which is a concept based on the idea that social behavior is the result of an exchange process. Social exchange is cooperation for mutual benefit. It is an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” principle. In any case, Mallusjoki pilot builds upon long-term stakeholder relationships and the pilot has a policy, tolerance and patience to wait for the pay-back.

The following two Mallusjoki pilot stakeholder meetings are about Smart Villages concept and synergies in the regional cultural events

Smart Villages concept

The stakeholder members in present were Marianna Selkäinaho from The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland and Ann-Sofi Backgren from the Finnish Food Authority.

The aim of the consultation meeting was to get first-hand information from the main authorities about the policy and strategy for implementing the Smart Village concept in Finland. The take-away was that the Ministry is committed to promoting the Smart Village concept and that there are also funds in the budget.

The authorities and agencies responsible for implementing the Smart Village strategy are looking forward to receiving innovative and practical ideas and funding applications from the villages.

Building synergies with cultural heritage projects in the Päijät-Häme region

The stakeholder member present was Joonas Pokkinen from the Regional Council of Päijät-Häme. He leads several regional cultural heritage projects. He is well informed about regional policies and strategies in the field of cultural heritage. Our discussion touched on possible synergies at policy and project level.

The following conclusions were drawn:

Päijät-Häme Regional Council promotes coordination of cultural work between municipalities
The PoliRuralPlus project and the Mallusjoki pilot project see advantages in linking up with other cultural projects in the region.
An interesting benchmark case is the Community Event Arena in the village of Jaala, which aims to promote cultural life in the village through a new arena. The investment was 1 MEUR.

The Young LEADER Forum field trip to Mallusjoki Youth Association

EU CAP Network brought together 200 motivated young people from rural areas and people from 32 countries. The young people aged 18-30 are working with LEADER at regional, national and EU level.

Source: https://eu-cap-network.ec.europa.eu/events/young-leader-forum_en

The Young LEADER Forum main event was organised in Vierumäki, Finland in 11.6.- 13.6.2024. The Young LEADER Forum is the world’s first Europe-wide Youth Leader meeting. The initiative for the event came from the European Union Commission, which also finances most of the event. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland is also involved in the event.

Mallusjoki Youth Association hosted an EU CAP Network field trip on 13.6.2024 to demonstrate their activities with young people at the local cultural center with theatre, music and poetry.

The Local Action Group – Päijänne-Leader’s Village and Youth Activator Tiina Västilä had approached Mallusjoki Youth Association and requested that they could host the event at Mallusjoki community. It was clear that Mallusjoki Youth Association will respond positively to the request. After all, Päijänne-Leader is a key stakeholder member and reciprocity is essential.

The Young LEADER Forum agenda on 11.6.- 13.6.2024 is below.

agenda-young-leader-forum-2 Download

Orimattilan Sanomat is a local newspaper that covers events and news in the region. The article below is about the Young LEADER Forum event and the field trip to the Mallusjoki Youth Association. The article is published on 18.6.2024.

The activities in Young LEADER Forum event and associated field trips are well aligned with the aim and work plan of PoliRuralPlus Horizon Europe project. Mallusjoki Youth Association and Smart & Lean Hub Oy are partners of the PoliRuralPlus consortium and responsible of Mallusjoki pilot.

Both Young LEADER Forum and PoliRuralPlus aim to

Involve young people in rural community activities.
Have a positive impact on rural development and the future.
Foster a stronger connection with the environment and promote pro-environmental behaviour and well-being (ref. New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiatives).
Building capacity, e.g. for rural entrepreneurship and innovation.
Strengthening rural-urban synergies, e.g. in agri-food systems and tourism.