HORIZON-CL6-2025-03-GOVERNANCE-03

This call offers a unique opportunity to reimagine and revalue the role of farming in society through the establishment of Bioregional Centers as living labs of rural cultural renewal. These centers will support farmers, not just as producers, but as stewards of land, heritage, and local economies, embedded in the ecological and cultural life of their bioregions.

Each center will engage farmers, youth, educators, and creatives in activities that reconnect food, land, and community. Using bioregional mapping, place-based storytelling, and participatory processes, we aim to revive the visibility and meaning of agriculture highlighting its social, ecological, and cultural dimensions. This includes co-developing educational programs, intergenerational learning initiatives, and cultural events that reframe farming as a pathway to meaningful livelihoods and local resilience.

The Bioregional Centers will also serve as platforms for new models of agricultural engagement—connecting farmers with schools, local governments, urban communities, and citizen consumers. These relationships can catalyze short food supply chains, cultural tourism, cooperative networks, and participatory land governance.

This work directly supports the EU’s vision for a socially inclusive, sustainable, and youth-friendly farming future. It aligns with broader goals of the Green Deal, Farm to Fork Strategy, and Rural Pact by building the social capital, narrative power, and community infrastructure needed for a just rural transition.

We are looking for partners with expertise in:

• Rural development, education, and youth engagement

• Cultural heritage, storytelling, and participatory media

• Social innovation, cooperative models, and local food systems

• Agricultural training and intergenerational learning

• Community organizing and farmer-community bridging initiatives

• Digital support for engagement and dissemination

What we offer:

• Experience designing bioregional identity processes and cultural programming

• Relationships with farmers, schools, artists, and youth across rural regions

• Tools for participatory engagement, food heritage revitalization, and land-based storytelling

• A pilot site in the Sudety region (Poland) for co-creating education and engagement initiatives

• A cross-European network of partners working at the intersection of agriculture, culture, and community