Title of the project: SMILE Incubator - Social Media Leadership Incubator for Danube Region
Action: Interreg Danube Region
Code of the project: DRP0301090
Leading Partner: School of Advanced Social Studies in Nova Gorica, Slovinsko
Project Manager from EUBA: PhDr. Peter Csanyi, PhD.
Team: PhDr. Michael Augustín, PhD., MPA; doc. Ing. Kristína Baculáková, PhD.; doc. PhDr. Rudolf Kucharčík, PhD.
Project duration: 01/04/2025 - 30/09/2027 (30 months)
Partnership: School of Advanced Social Studies (SI), Faculty of Information Studies in Novo mesto (SI), Rudolfovo - Science and Technology Centre Novo mesto (SI) Foster Europe, Foundation for strong European regions (AT), Center for Civil Society Promotion (BA), Research Centre “Regional and Global Development” (BG), Rochester Institute of Technology Zagreb (HR), Metropolitan University Prague (CZ), Steinbeis 2i GmbH (DE), South Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency (HU), NGO OIKUMENA (MD), Association for Responsible and Sustainable Development (ME), Babeș-Bolyai University (RO), Danube Area Research Center (RS), University of Economics in Bratislava (SK), International Institute for Regional Media and Information (UA)
Project description: The Danube Region's (DR) remote rural communities are facing significant challenges due to emigration rates, brain drain, an ageing population, and the increasing importance of digitalization. The SMILE Incubator project aims to empower youth living in rural areas by providing them with essential skills, competences, and tools. The project aims to reverse current trends by equipping young people with the necessary resources to succeed in their rural environment, promoting sustainable development and resilience in these communities.
Project main aim: The main objective of the project is to develop a transnational Social Media Leadership Incubator for rural youth, which will serve as a mechanism to strengthen leadership skills and empowerment, contributing to the development of sustainable democracies in the DR. The main target group is youth from underdeveloped rural communities, but activities will also aim at academics, SMEs, NGOs, and media outlets. Building leadership capacity and social media skills will encourage youth participation in active citizenship and ultimately the future leadership of rural communities in the DR. The project will be managed and implemented by a diverse but balanced consortium of 20 partners (LP, 15 PPs, and 4 ASPs) from all 14 countries of the DR, with complementary competences, experience, and expertise. This will create synergies that will lead to high relevance and quality of results.
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