Europe

DIGIVILLAE – Cross-border cooperation for more
innovative territories

AKTANTIS is partner of the European project Digivillae. Funded by the Interreg VI-A Italie-France ALCOTRA 2021-2027 programme, the project is part of the broader EUSALP Alpine macro-regional strategy and aims to adopt a Smart Village approach.

The project

The project aims to support small municipalities in ALCOTRA areas in their innovation efforts by offering tools, services and collaborative working methods to develop a local development strategy. This strategy will consider the needs of local stakeholders (citizens, public institutions, businesses, etc.) and leverage the expertise of businesses to address the identified challenges. A trial phase will then enable this strategy to be tested and improved.

Digivillae will include the following actions: 

• Creation of a network of local hubs: These hubs will serve as meeting and exchange points for local stakeholders, facilitating the pooling of needs and skills, as well as providing access to shared multilingual digital infrastructure. 

• Development of a digital tool: This tool will enable local needs and potential solutions to be identified, in order to help develop an appropriate development strategy.

• Sourcing and testing innovative digital solutions: The project will seek out and test digital solutions to meet the specific needs of the regions concerned.

The INTERREG ALCOTRA programme and the EUSALP strategy

INTERREG ALCOTRA is a European cooperation programme between France and Italy. It aims to strengthen economic, social, cultural and environmental ties in the Alpine border regions. Funded by the European Regional Development Fund, it supports projects promoting sustainable and integrated development in the Alpine region. In the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, the territories covered by the programme are the departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Hautes-Alpes and Alpes-Maritimes. In Italy, the ALCOTRA territories are the regions of Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont and Liguria. 

The EUSALP strategy (European Union Strategy for the Alpine Region) aims to strengthen cooperation between Alpine countries for sustainable, innovative and coherent development of the region. Within this framework, the “Smart Village” approach encourages rural and mountain communities to use digital technologies, citizen participation and local solutions to improve the quality of life and attractiveness of Alpine villages.