• Community Groups are virtual spaces located on the Rural Pact Community Platform that bring together stakeholders to network and exchange information on a common topic.
• The Rural Pact Support Office (RPSO) coordinates and implements the networking activities of the Rural Pact and its community to achieve the objectives of the Rural Pact and the long-term vision for rural areas in the European Union.

In March of this year, the Rural Pact Support Office (RPSO) was established , an institution designed to facilitate networking between the Rural Pact and its community to amplify rural voices on the European political agenda.

The Rural Pact is part of the European Union's Communication on the "Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas" : a European Commission project to establish a roadmap for the development and prosperity of rural Europe by 2040.

The long-term vision for rural areas communication proposed the development of both a Rural Pact —the body created to elevate rural concerns to the highest possible political level—and a Rural Action Plan by the European Union, which is to provide political support to rural areas through the CAP and cohesion policy.

Community groups

One of the Rural Pact Support Office's main tasks is to build a community for making commitments and taking action. In this context, the virtual platform created by the Office hosts"Community Groups" to bring together interested people to connect, share information, and undertake joint actions around a shared interest.

Each group is managed by one or more Community Coordinators , who in all cases will be European organizations committed to submitting relevant information from the specific Community group to the Rural Pact Office.

Existing groups

1. The Integration of Immigrants and Refugees in Rural Areas : This Community Group aims to address the specific needs, challenges, and opportunities of migrants and refugees in rural areas on policy agendas. It aims to achieve not only labor market integration but also social inclusion in local communities. Its coordinators include the Societies in Motion Research Team (ESOMI) , a Spanish organization.

2.Mountain Areas : Its purpose is to address the challenges and limitations of mountain regions by exploring their potential to become better connected, more resilient, and economically developed. Euromontana is the coordinator of the group.

3. Women in Rural Areas : This project was created to highlight the contributions of women in rural areas, building on the work carried out by the Horizon GRASS CEILING project. Blanca Casares, from Spain, is one of the two project coordinators from the European Association for Innovation in Local Development (AEIDI ).

4. Smart villages : Most rural stakeholders are still unsure how to implement the concept of smart villages within their territories. The challenge in Europe is to make the concept of smart villages a reality. This would ensure that rural communities have access to a wide range of funding to implement innovative, technological, and digital measures that would transform them into true 21st-century villages or towns.

5. Rural Pact Coordination Group : This group was established as a special group to represent the Rural Pact participants within the European institutions. The main coordinators are the Directorates-General for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy of the European Commission. Its mission is to serve as a forum for its members to propose meetings and discussion topics to the Rural Pact Office.

Stake

How to join a community group? Follow these steps:

1. By registering on the Rural Pact Community Platform and creating a profile.
2. Find community groups of interest to youhere and identify yourself.
3. Join an existing discussion or start your own.

The coordinators of each group will review the applications and make the final decision on whether to accept each member.