We, the rural people of Gotland – the programming period 2014–2022

”"We, the rural developers on Gotland" was about developing social entrepreneurship in the island's rural areas. We wanted to use inspiration, exchange of experiences and knowledge transfer to stimulate more people to become what we call "rural developers" - that is, those who make efforts to develop their own countryside.

Young rural residents were a particularly prioritized target group in the project.

The project began in the summer of 2022 – at the end of our previous programming period – and ran until 2024.

In the project "We, the rural explorers on Gotland", several types of activities were carried out:

• ”In a series of films, we told about people and groups who are already ”country builders”. We wanted to highlight what they have done, and we wanted to use their example to encourage more people to invest in development in their region. 
• In May 2023, we began a program of activities that will continue until 2024. In May 2023, there were, among other things, bus trips with study visits to sustainable and innovative entrepreneurs in green industries/food production and cultural and creative industries. These elements were primarily aimed at young people and took place partly in collaboration with Visby Gymnasiet's Agricultural Line. In October 2023, two innovation workshops with students from Campus Gotland and students from the Natural Resources Program at Gotland's Green Center.  

  The theme was "what economic and entrepreneurial opportunities are there linked to the future Bästeträsk National Park?".

• At the beginning of 2024, we started the initiative "Young Life Power!" where reference groups with young people, in collaboration with our project employee Ottilia Söderström, planned and implemented various activities for and by young people in the island's rural areas - with a focus on young entrepreneurship. In the spring of 2024, an inspiration meeting was arranged at Etelhems pottery in May and an Epa-dunk in Roma in early June. And at the Harvest Festival on September 7–8, there was, among other things, street art with graffiti painting and a concert by The Hugos from Klintehamn.
• In 2024, ”We, the rural dwellers on Gotland,” held a series of well-attended After Work meetings for information, dialogue and brainstorming about local development. The AW meetings were held in Fårösund, Stenkyrka, Hemse and Roma. In addition, a special AW meeting about Gotland's blue industries was held in connection with Fisherman's Day in Ronehamn on June 1, 2024.
• During the spring of 2024, "We, the rural visionaries on Gotland", participated in various exciting conferences: The closing conference for the EU project "Smart Rural 27" in Brussels, the EU conference on blue circular economy "2nd Mission Arena" in Riga, and the Rural Parliament in Nyköping.