In the period from 27-28.11.2024. in Sarvar, Hungary, a meeting of RurALL project partners and workshops were held on the current project topics: 1) mapping of unused dwellings/ facilities that can be put to use for the benefit of the community and 2) community involvement in considering the possible use of the mapped dwellings. The methodology for the main activity in the following period was also presented: development of business models for financing the reconstruction and operation of priority dwellings. In addition, external experts presented a project with the topic of New European Bauhaus and innovations in the field of construction and reconstruction, with an emphasis on the use of natural materials in accordance with the requirements of ecology.

The partners in the project are from the countries of the Danube region and the transnational program Interreg Danube Region, funded by the EU. The main problem that the project deals with and which is existing in all the countries of the region is the depopulation of rural areas. The project analyses the possibilities of putting unused facilities in public and private ownership into operation in order to create better life opportunities for rural communities.

The project partners are from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania. The partners from Serbia are the Regional Economic Development Agency for Šumadija and Pomoravlje and the Municipality of Despotovac, as an associated partner, on whose territory the pilot project is taking place: mapping unused buildings and defining business models for reconstruction and function of the priority buildings with the active involvement of the local community. Representatives of the municipality of Despotovac actively participated in this meeting, conveying the situation and their experience from the territory of the municipality, and the regional development agency transfers the activities and results of the project to the regional and wider context.