News

• The “Young Rural Dynamizers” of Aragon annually hold the “Made in rural” awards to support innovation projects led by rural youth
• The IX call “Made in Rural”   The projects “Así suena el Moncayo”, “ Escuita, muller” and “Santantonada” will be awarded 5,000 euros to be shared and a nine-month mentorship.

The LEADER cooperation project   Young Rural Dynamizers (JDR), promoted by 14 Local Action Groups ( GAL ), and the Aragon Open Government Laboratory (LAAAB) have announced the winners of the IX edition of Made in Rural - I dynamize my town -, which have been “This is how Moncayo sounds”, “ Listen, woman” and “Santantonada”.

Made in Rural

Made in Rural is a program within the LEADER cooperation project “Young Rural Promoters,” whose objective is to promote innovative ideas led by young people in rural Aragon. This edition began in August 2025, and for the first time, registration remained open until October. In total, the call for proposals received eight submissions, which participated in the meeting in Villanúa (Huesca) last November 2025.

The three selected options will be developed during 2026, over a period of nine months. The program has a budget of €5,000, which will fully fund the development phase for the finalists and also offer mentorship to support them throughout the process. JDR will also advise on finding alternative funding for the proposals that were not selected.

Proposals

According to Sara Cortés, from JDR, the three chosen projects manage to “strengthen ties and roots in their environment, generate community participation, offer resources that will energize the town for a few weeks and will be a motivation for other young people or adults to launch other social projects.”

• “This is the sound of Moncayo” is the project of the Tintineo Association (Alcalá de Moncayo), which aims to revive the auroras , folk songs at risk of disappearing, and the paloteado , a form of popular dance and theater. The revival will begin with a research phase and an intergenerational workshop where young and old will come together to transcribe the traditional lyrics, melodies, and texts. It will culminate in the publication of a songbook and an urban art installation featuring plaques with fragments of the songs throughout the town.

• Listen, woman   (Listen, woman)   It is a support network launched by three women in Panticosa to share experiences and recognize rural women as agents of change and caretakers of the land. It will include awareness and reflection workshops that foster encounter, dialogue, and collective responsibility; and will culminate in the creation of a participatory documentary based on testimonies from the women of the village.

• Santantonada is the project of   A group of young people in Peñarroya de Tastavins are reviving the traditions of the San Antonio Abad festival, a centuries-old celebration whose dances and performances were already documented in the 16th and 17th centuries. To this end, they have created the "barraca," a new event that involves a communal bonfire around which the life of the saint is reenacted. Their goal is to improve and complete the costumes of the characters to enhance the staging and ensure the continuity and quality of the performance in the future.

Likewise, JDR has recognized the intangible cultural heritage recovery projects La Veu de las pedres (Cretas) and Airegaz (Campo de Belchite), to which it will offer financial support and accompaniment together with the Local Action Groups OMEZYMA and ADECOBEL .

Participants and funding

Made in Rural is part of the LEADER Young Rural Dynamizers cooperation project together with the Aragon Open Government Laboratory (LAAAB) (General Directorate of Open Government and Social Innovation ) and is co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development ( EAFRD ) within the LEADER intervention of the PEPAC 2023-2027 and the Government of Aragon .