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Simona Tondelli: Every policy that you want to propose for rural area should be place-based and rooted in the cultural and natural heritage of that community. So it really depends on specific local conditions that should guide the local communities to develop their own way to rural regeneration.
VO: This interview is part of Visionary Realms, an audio series produced by FT Longitude in partnership with The Royal Commission for AlUla.
Meg Wright: For thousands of years, the story of humankind has been rooted in rural communities. They are the foundation of our society, yet they face an uncertain future. It's estimated that by 2050, nearly 70% of the global population will live in cities. This rapid urbanisation is changing the world around us, creating new opportunities for some and deepening inequalities for others.
Hello and welcome to Visionary Realms, a series that explores new visions for community development, tourism and cultural landscapes. Each episode, we take a close up look at a community or region that is drawing on lessons from the past to build for a sustainable future.
I'm your host, Meg Wright, and in this episode, we're sweeping across Europe as we take a look at how rural communities are collaborating to ensure social, economic and environmental sustainability in an increasingly urban world. So how can a responsible approach to cultural and environmental stewardship empower rural communities and support economic regeneration?
Joining me to discuss this is Simona Tondelli, project coordinator at RURITAGE, an EU-funded programme that aims to deliver rural regeneration through cultural and natural heritage. Simona, thanks for joining me.
Simona Tondelli: Thank you for inviting me.
Meg Wright: Simona, I think it's fair to say that rural communities really are the backbone of so much cultural and natural heritage, and in fact, so much of the fabric of our modern world does come from these places. Could you start maybe by sharing with our listeners the story behind RURITAGE and its unique approach to sustainable development?
Simona Tondelli: Yes. RURITAGE is a project that was funded by the European community in 2018. So we worked together for four or five years with a lot of local communities in rural areas around Europe and also outside Europe to try to demonstrate how cultural and natural heritage can be a driver of sustainable development and competitiveness.
The approach we use in managing the landscape is connected with the idea that landscapes and nature and culture are the results of a combination of collaboration between human society and nature. The result of these processes, both natural and cultural, together have shaped the rural areas, the local environment in which we live. So indeed, the approach that RURITAGE has adopted regards the need to maintain a balance between protecting, conserving and redeveloping natural values of the rural landscape as the premise for achieving rural regeneration.
The idea [behind] RURITAGE was to empower the local communities, to give them the pride, also, to decide by themselves the future they want for their territory. So not to propose them a solution, to give them a ready solution, but to ask them to work together involving all the different stakeholders, from the citizens to the enterprises, to research, to NGOs, trade unions. So everyone, you can imagine, working on this territory to build together a vision for the territory. This is really the key that works for rural regeneration.
Meg Wright: We know too that rural areas in Europe and beyond really are facing challenges, so things like ageing population, the decline of agricultural income, poor physical and digital accessibility, just to name a few. But they’re also extremely rich in cultural and natural heritage, so whether that’s the tangible elements, like monuments and architecture, or the more intangible ones like language, local knowledge and traditions. So Simona, what does it mean to inspire regeneration then through heritage?
Simona Tondelli: The way we approached the issue of rural regeneration was just to keep a holistic approach. So you cannot really separate cultural and natural heritage, tangible and intangible heritage, because they are all building the same vision and the same values for the community. So for example, when we talk about pilgrimage, we talk about rediscovering local cultural and natural heritage along hiking routes, pilgrimage routes. This poses a lot of opportunities for less explored areas to gain recognition and boost local economy.
Another example of our systemic innovation areas is sustainable food production and local gastronomy. They embody agricultural practises, rural landscape, local history, traditions, and really symbolises the cultural heritage of a territory. Food serves as a strong connection between nature and human society, bringing together land, heritage and people.
Keeping together culture, nature, and economy by acknowledging the fact that if you work in a good environment, rich and cultural in natural heritage, also the economy can benefit. And I think this is very important because we were able to show that there is no contrast, but if you keep all those things together, you can take advantages in all the different sectors.
Meg Wright: ‘Resilience’ is the word that immediately comes to mind for me, so it's about ensuring they're equipped with the tools and skills needed to be able to weather any kind of volatility of which we've seen so much in recent living memory of course. Could you talk maybe a little bit about the role of resilience in some of these rural communities and the heritage projects that RURITAGE has undertaken?
Simona Tondelli: For what concerns the resilience, we started addressing natural hazards as a first step of our methodology. So we tried to understand how rural communities could became stronger and adapt to climate change and the natural risks. But then the Covid appeared on the scene, so we had to modify a bit our concept of the resilience to include also the capacity of adapt and regenerate after economic and social crisis. The experience was very positive even if it was not easy at the beginning to work during the lockdown as a project and as rural communities. But we learned a lot and we learned that the resources that are in rural areas can really be positive and can really build a balance between urban and rural areas. So if you remember during Covid, there was a huge narrative about the idea of living in the countryside, about the border, about rural villages.
Rural areas are really rich in nature, in open space. They provide the possibility of staying outside and meeting people without a lot of constraints. And the environment is pleasant, rich, it can improve wellbeing of the people. But on the other side, what we learned is that this is not something that is true everywhere.
So you have to build accessibility, physical and digital accessibility. You have to provide for services because people need services from schools to healthcare to the cinema, for example, or theatres, events. So it's really something that you have to plan and to manage for, also for avoid problems of gentrification that could happen and change the rural areas and make the cultural natural heritage and threaten the cultural, natural heritage.
Meg Wright: That's a really good point. You've mentioned also migration. And of course there was that statistic I mentioned in the introduction that by 2050, 70% of the world's population is predicted to live in urban centres according to the World Economic Forum. Could you talk to me a little bit about perhaps how you manage heritage preservation in culturally diverse communities? Because I imagine that these migration patterns are going to continue to have a significant impact on people in these rural communities, either those that have lived there long term for many generations, or those who are perhaps new to these communities and are coming in for the first time.
Simona Tondelli: Yeah. Migration was one of our approaches to rural regeneration because beyond its challenges, the arrival of migrants can create new opportunities for growth, in particular in areas that are suffering from the population, ageing, and closing services, thus contributing to maintain rural communities alive.
So highlighting the positive contribution of migrants to the development of rural areas can really be fundamental for creating an inclusive society. One of my favourite role models in RURITAGE is PIAM. PIAM is the acronym for Project for the Integration and Welcoming of Immigrants. It's a non-profit organisation based in the northern of Italy, near Asti. And I like it very much because it is a clear example of how regeneration can be driven by this challenge, the strong immigration fluxes to be managed by capitalising on social and cultural resources.
The NGO started almost 20 years ago to host migrants in some historical buildings in the countryside of Asti, where it started to involve the migrants themselves in practical activities such as the recovery of those buildings.
The old villa renovation allowed to start other different heritage-based activities directly involving migrants. Ancient grains were restored and cultivated and distributed to the territory by selling the products in local markets for organic farming products, establishing relationships with local farmers. But there was also the recovery of the old vineyard that is cultivated for seeing the collaboration with local wine-growing companies. Moreover, ad hoc training courses were conceived for refugees in the catering and the artistic craftsmanship sectors, leading to the development of a brand that produces handmade ceramics and to the recent opening of a restaurant.
So I think that this is really a good example to show how civic engagement, shared planning between various actors can make the arrival of migrants an engine of development for the local community and create local growth, local opportunities not only for the migrants, but also for the territory itself.
Meg Wright: That's such a powerful example. Thank you so much for sharing. Simona, before we wrap up, I wondered, based on everything that you've learned in your role as project coordinator for RURITAGE, what advice would you give for rural community leaders in today's era of increasing urbanisation?
Simona Tondelli: I think the number one lesson is really this place-based approach. So every policy that you want to propose for rural area should be place-based and rooted in the cultural and natural heritage of that community. So it is impossible to just suggest approaches that have worked in some places because it is not sure that they will work in another place. So you can learn from other examples of what has worked, what has not worked, the barriers, different ways of facing challenges, but then there is a unique answer to each local community. So I think that this is really what I would leave to the rural communities as a key message. So to build on their own local cultural and natural heritage for building their own future.
And then what is needed to make this happen is a participatory governance model, boosting the cooperation between institutions, communities, businesses, voluntary organisation and so on. And something that is very important in rural areas is that this should also go beyond administrative boundaries. So rural areas, rural communities cannot compete if they go alone, they should really build these networks to face together some common challenges and build together some common solutions.
One very important issue that I would like to mention is also the importance of the pride and sense of belonging of the community, that should be emphasised. Because we should seek for more balanced relationship among rural and urban areas, putting a stronger focus on urban-rural linkages to be kept at the same level, not thinking about rural areas as less than urban areas.
Meg Wright: Could not agree more. And what a powerful note to end on. Simona, thank you so much for joining me today.
Simona Tondelli: Thank you. And thank you for letting me share this project that I have loved a lot.