local AW meetings will take ideas to concrete plans
”Together for our community” is driven and funded by Leader Gute in collaboration with rural areas in Gotland. The project aims to lead to concrete plans for strengthened social cohesion.
The activities in the project ”Together for our community” mainly consist of a series of local AW meetings and are based on equal parts clear structure and fun socializing. Everyone in the participating communities is welcome to join and it costs nothing! A clear ambition is to include all ages – people ”in the middle of life,” youth, and the elderly. It is also important that the participating communities do not only concern one locality or one parish, but encompass areas with several parishes in collaboration.
In the spring of 2025, ”Together for our community” was launched in three areas:
- Hemse and surrounding areas
- Roma and surrounding areas
- An area with six parishes in collaboration – Stenkyrka, Lummelunda, Martebo, Tingstäde, Hangvar, and Hall
In the spring of 2026, two more areas joined:
- The parishes within Klintetraktenes Framtid as well as Tofta and Eskelhem
- A cluster with Etelhem, Garda, Stånga, När, Burs, and Eke
In the autumn of 2026, the last area will be formed and started. In total, there will be six areas participating in the project, which will conclude in the spring of 2027.
The core of ”Together for our community” is three types of AW meetings that are held in each participating area:
Idea-AW
This introductory AW meeting takes place, for example, at a local year-round open pub and begins with good food.
After that, it may include various types of elements to provide inspiration – for example, through interviews with rural heroes from the local area or from other communities.
Each participating area then develops ideas that can strengthen social cohesion in the community. This happens through discussions in groups – what we call ”table talk.”.
Each group briefly presents their ideas. All ideas that emerge are ”clustered” into idea themes. Some – usually four – of these themes are voted on to work further with and shape into concrete plans at the next AW.
Those who wish can conclude with mingling and after-talk.
EVERYONE who lives and works in the area is warmly welcome! It is also possible to arrange children's activities to make it easier for parents in families with young children to participate.
NOTE – the number of places is limited by each local fire safety regulations. Therefore, pre-registration is required.
Information about registration and the program for the Idea-AW in each participating area is published continuously further down this page and spread in other ways. After the Idea-AW has been held, summaries of them and which idea themes have been chosen to work further with will be published.
VIP-AW
Each area conducts the next step, the VIP-AW. Here, the community should together move Vforward from Iideas to Pplans!
Leader Gute provides support during the VIP-AW and there is also the opportunity to involve an external process leader.
One group per selected theme from the previous AW works in four steps to develop drafts for plans. Leader Gute then analyzes, processes, and structures the material into finished proposals and concrete plans.
Even for the VIP-AW:es, EVERYONE in the respective area is welcome and there will be an AW atmosphere with good food, mingling, and children's activities if desired! But even for the VIP-AW, pre-registration is required.
Information about and registration for the VIP-AW is spread well in advance of the events. Information about the VIP-AW is also published further down on this page.
Release-AW
Finally, it is time for the Release-AW in each area!
Here, the concrete plan proposals developed at the VIP-AW are presented and processed by Leader Gute.
The plan proposals are discussed and there is an opportunity to add suggestions and thoughts before the plans are finalized.
During the meeting, the initial work to realize each plan is also planned.
And of course, we continue with the AW atmosphere, good food, mingling, and possible children's activities! Like the other AW:es, pre-registration is required.
Information about and registration for the Release-AW is spread well in advance of the events. This is also published further down on this page. Final plans established at the Release-AW will also be published below under information about each participating area.
Conferences, final report, and study visits
On two occasions, all participating areas within ”Together for our community” meet to celebrate and share experiences. Partly during a ”mid-term conference” when about half of the project time has passed – i.e., during the previous autumn of 2026. Partly during a closing conference when the entire project and all six areas are completely finished in the spring of 2027.
For the final conference, Leader Gute will summarize what has been done within the project in the six areas in a final report.
During the project period, study visits are also planned, where the participating areas get to visit other areas to gain tips and inspiration.
More information about conferences, study trips, and the final report will be published on this page and spread later!
Hemse and surrounding areas
The initial Idea-AW was held on April 7, 2025, at Bank o Mat, Hemse:
- See the summary of the AW meeting and which idea themes were chosen to continue working on HERE!
VIP-AW was held at Hemsgården on October 2, 2025.
Release-AW was held at Änggårde, Rone on November 20, 2025.was carried out at Änggårde, Rone on November 20, 2025 . See final established plans via the links below:
- Högby Äng – center for Fest and Dance
- Hela Hemse sings
- Preparedness & collaboration in the Hemse area
- Epa and moped mechanics in Hemse
Six parishes in collaboration: Stenkyrka, Lummelunda, Martebo, Tingstäde, Hangvar and Hall
Initial Idea-AW was held on April 24 at Gotland's Defense Museum, Tingstäde:
- See the summary of the AW meeting and which idea themes were chosen to continue working on HERE!
VIP-AW washeld at Kappelshamn's Folkets Hus on November 19, 2025.
Release-AW was held on March 19, 2026 at Gotland's Defense Museum, Tingstäde
See final established plans via the links below:
Roma and surrounding areas
Initial Idea-AW was held on May 15, 2025 at Romabrunnen, Roma:
- See summary of the AW meeting and which idea themes were chosen to continue working with HERE!
VIP-AW waswas held at Romabrunnen on January 22, 2026.
Release-AW was held on March 5, 2026 at Romabrunnen
See final established plans via the links below:
- Disc golf course – full throttle in Roma!
- NÄRA – A senior leisure center
- Romafesten: Motor, Food and Music!
- Let something out! – A popular cultural relay in the Romabygden
The Klint area as well as Tofta and Eskelhem
