The ten partners held the second face-to-face meeting of this LIFE Programme project in the Estonian city.
The EC4RURAL consortium held its second annual meeting in Tartu, Estonia, on September 26th and 27th, 2024. This event, which brought together the ten project partners, served to review its progress and discuss future plans. In addition to fruitful discussions, participants visited two municipalities that are part of the EC4RURAL initiative, gaining valuable first-hand knowledge of local community energy projects.
The EC4RURAL consortium recently concluded its second general meeting in Tartu, Estonia. The meeting, held on September 26th and 27th 2024, provided an opportunity for the ten partners to reflect on the progress of the project, address organisational issues and outline the next steps. Organised by the University of Tartu, the meeting was highly productive, with important milestones achieved and constructive discussions on the way forward.
The meeting started with a welcome speech by Mihkel Solvak, Vice Dean for Research and Development at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tartu, followed by a project update by EC4RURAL coordinator Xavier Simón from the University of Vigo. Antti Roose, Professor at the University of Tartu, presented the programme and provided the essential context for the annual meeting.
Over the two days, the consortium examined progress on each work package, covering key areas such as local community energy goals, stakeholder engagement, training and communication. Partners presented updates on project developments in both Spain and Estonia, discussed challenges and identified future opportunities.
In addition to these discussions, the consortium had the opportunity to gain first-hand experience through two technical visits to municipalities involved in the EC4RURAL project. On the afternoon 26th September, participants visited the municipality of Rõuge, where they explored local community initiatives and visited key sites related to the energy project. On 27th September, the group travelled to the municipality of Elva, an active participant in the EC4RURAL initiative, where they learned first-hand about the pilot projects being implemented. In Elva, Priit Värv, the local mayor, was presented with the EC4RURAL project distinctive, recognising the municipality as an Energy Transition Community.
This second face-to-face meeting was not only successful in discussing the milestones and challenges of EC4RURAL, but also helped to contextualise the specificities of rural areas as far apart as Galicia and Estonia. Consortium members concluded that the difficulties encountered in developing energy communities in both pilot areas require specific solutions adapted to the social, political and economic context of each area.
