A highlight in digital transition and macroregional exchange

On 29 April 2025, the SMART ERA project was represented at the Digital Alps conference organised by EUSALP AG5 member Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta.

The SMART ERA partner SAB  moderated a workshop entitled ‘Different ways of digital transformation of rural territories and cross-macroregional perspectives‘.

In a first part, the SMART ERA project was presented, with Elena Not (Fondazione Bruno Kessler) presenting the SIP-based methodology for co-designing innovation with communities, and Luciano Galetti and Francesca Leoni (Autonomous Province of Trento) giving a brief presentation of the Province’s strategy for digital-based territorial cohesion and the Val di Sole test area. The first part was completed by a presentation of the Smart CommUnity project from Alpine Space and the digihub Liechtenstein.

The second part was dedicated to the political uptake of the results of the SMART ERA project and to transmacroregional cooperation. To this end, a discussion was animated by interviews with Claudia Singer, Priority Area Coordinator (EU Strategy for the Danube Region/PA 10-Inst. Capacity) and Michael Roth, EUSALP Board Member. The workshop showed how a well combined mix of new technologies and participatory practices can contribute to a digital transition of rural areas and how these results can be integrated into policy mechanisms. The results will be published soon on https://digitalalps.eu/.