Three researchers from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, have published in the latest issue of Sustainability Magazine the first article resulting from the LIVERUR project’s research entitled Living Labs for Rural Areas: Contextualization of Living Lab Frameworks, Concepts and Practices
Veronika Zavratnik , Argene Superina and Emilija Stojmenova Duh describe the value of the Living Labs concept for creating environments that enable equal opportunities for people living in rural and urban areas, and for making rural areas attractive places to live. Living Labs are seen as one of the important building blocks of smart rural development and an important step towards establishing a Smart Village environment. They are a valuable player in enhancing circular economy, digital transformation, local self-sufficiency and other elements of sustainable living.
Emilija Stojmenova Duh explains: “The main benefits of the article for both the LIVERUR partners, but also the rest of the stakeholders is to learn how to put Living Labs in the context of rural areas and evaluate their possible contributions for sustainable rural development. Moreover, we are describing what we have learnt so far – that the element of community and social change should be considered as a key element in enabling sustainable living.”
This first scientific article is the beginning of the exploitation of LIVERUR project results, with the aim of transfer of knowledge to stakeholders, in particular, and to society, in general. For this, work groups have been organized in charge of the different topics of interest.
In this sense, Pablo Cano, LIVERUR coordinator and Director of the International Project Office at UCAM, affirms that “the main reason of H2020 European projects is to reach the population with the results achieved so that they can be exploited for the greater good of the European Union and its citizens.”
