By Serafin Pazos Vidal, AIEDL

Brussels – 9 July 2026

SMART ERA was proudly represented at the Digital Alps Conference (DAC) 2026, the flagship annual event of EUSALP Action Group 5 (AG5) – Connectivity and Accessibility, held under the Bavarian Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP). The conference brought together European institutions, regional authorities, researchers, young innovators and practitioners to discuss the future of digital transformation in Alpine and mountain territories.

Representing the project on behalf of SMART ERA Coordinator Matteo Gerosa (Fondazione Bruno Kessler – FBK), Serafin Pazos Vidal (AEIDL) participated in the high-level session ‘Future-Ready Alps: Digital Transformation, Resilient Infrastructure and Public Value in Data and AI in Dialogue with the European Commission’. The session explored how European projects and institutions can support resilient, inclusive and digitally enabled communities in rural and mountain areas.

Bringing the SMART ERA Perspective to the Alpine Debate

During the Digital Transformation session, Serafin presented the key conclusions of SMART ERA Deliverable D6.2, developed by AEIDL, which analyses policy frameworks supporting community-led rural innovation across Europe and in the project’s pilot countries: Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Italy, Slovenia and Spain. The study identifies both enabling policies and persistent barriers affecting the transition towards smart rural communities.

Among the key challenges highlighted were:

  • Demographic decline and ageing populations;
  • Brain drain and youth outmigration;
  • Unequal access to services and infrastructure;
  • Territorial digital divides;
  • Fragmented governance arrangements;
  • Limited data availability for evidence-based policymaking.

SMART ERA’s research also demonstrates that community-led approaches, including LEADER, Smart Villages, Living Labs and other collaborative governance mechanisms, can play a critical role in strengthening rural resilience and innovation capacity.

A Shared Vision with EUSALP AG5

A central takeaway from the conference was the strong convergence between SMART ERA’s findings and the priorities set out in the newly adopted AG5 Work Plan 2026–2028.

AG5’s strategy focuses on three core priorities:

  • Digital transformation of mountainous areas;
  • Future-proof digital infrastructures;
  • Data and artificial intelligence for public value.

These priorities closely mirror many of the needs identified by SMART ERA. The project’s policy audit highlights the importance of stronger community participation, better governance coordination, improved digitalisation, enhanced monitoring systems and greater local capacity-building. AG5 addresses these challenges through its Smart Communities agenda, capacity-building activities, policy dialogue processes, digital infrastructure initiatives and data-driven innovation actions.

As discussed during the session, SMART ERA provides a valuable evidence base that can support AG5’s implementation activities across the Alpine macro-region. While SMART ERA focuses on understanding what enables successful smart rural transitions, AG5 provides a practical framework to turn these lessons into action through projects, networks and policy cooperation.

High-Level European Participation

The conference featured contributions from leading European and regional policymakers.

Opening remarks were delivered by Eric Beißwenger, Bavarian State Minister for European and International Affairs and representative of the EUSALP Presidency 2026, and Leonardo Lotto, Regional Minister of the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta. Julie Thiran (European Commission, DG REGIO) Team leader in charge of this Macrorregional Strategies opened the meeting underlining the role of cohesion policy and territorial cooperation in strengthening regional resilience.

A keynote address by Prof. Emilija Stojmenova Duh, former Minister for Digital Transformation of Slovenia and now at the University of Ljubljana, stressed the importance of ensuring that digital transformation reaches remote and mountainous communities and delivers tangible improvements in people’s lives. Her message strongly resonated with SMART ERA’s emphasis on place-based approaches, inclusion and rural innovation, as she is part of our project.
The conference also benefited from the participation of European Commission representatives across several policy areas. In the Digital Transformation session, Angelo Cerqueti (DG AGRI) responded to presentations on smart communities and rural innovation, bringing the perspective of rural development policy and the Common Agricultural Policy. This contribution reinforced the link between digital transformation and broader rural development objectives.

Building Synergies with Fellow European Projects

The event showcased several projects contributing to the future of smart mountain and rural territories.
In the same session as SMART ERA, our partner Gianluca Lentini presented on this occasion the achievements of the SmartCommUnity project. The discussion highlighted the strong complementarities between SmartCommUnity and SMART ERA, particularly in areas such as community-led development, digital inclusion, local capacity-building and the promotion of citizen-centred innovation.

The conference also featured contributions from initiatives working on digital infrastructures, artificial intelligence and regional innovation ecosystems, including presentations by Francesco Saverio Cataliotti (QCIMED project), Florian Maurer (Apollo project), Kevin Boesch (Principality of Liechtenstein) and Gianmarco Piola (ALIVE project). Together, these projects illustrated how collaboration across sectors and territories can accelerate the digital transformation of mountain regions.

SMART ERA’s Growing Contribution to the Alpine Agenda

Importantly, SMART ERA is not only aligned with AG5 priorities but is already recognised as a strategic contributor within the AG5 Work Plan itself.

The AG5 Work Plan explicitly references SMART ERA as a supporting initiative for activities related to Smart and Sustainable Communities Development and Remote and Hybrid Work and Learning Opportunities. This demonstrates the project’s growing influence in shaping discussions on digital transformation, territorial resilience and community-led innovation within the Alpine region.

The Digital Alps Conference confirmed that the challenges faced by Alpine territories are closely connected to those experienced by rural communities across Europe. It also demonstrated that solutions must combine technological innovation with strong governance, citizen participation and territorial cooperation.

As SMART ERA moves forward, the project looks forward to strengthening collaboration with EUSALP AG5, the Smart Alps Network and other European initiatives working towards a shared vision of smart, resilient and community-driven rural and mountain regions.