Smart Village is a new concept in the field of EU policies. ‘Smart and Competitive Rural Areas’ is one of the broad themes of the European Network for Rural Development (ENRD) in the 2014-2020 programming period. Smart Villages is one of the sub-themes of the EU Rural Development policy’s.

Smart Villages are “rural areas and communities which build on their existing strengths and assets as well as on developing new opportunities”, where “traditional and new networks and services are enhanced by means of digital, telecommunication technologies, innovations and the better use of knowledge” (by European Comission). That means rural communities taking the initiative to find practical solutions to challenges and make the most of new opportunities. ’Smart’ means also thinking for yourself, building new forms of cooperation beyond the village itself. Most of these coopertions and alliances are social entreprises at the moment as well as in the nearest future.

Watch a video about Smart Villages (with Estonian subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=114&v=iAVilTmxXl0.