The third General Assembly of the ESIRA project (Enhancing Social Inclusion and Rural Areas) took place from May 20 to 22, 2025, in the Norwegian town of Kongsvinger. The event was hosted by local partners the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (INN), and Innlandet County Council, who organised a three-day programme combining presentations, discussions, workshops, and field visits. HÉTFA is a partner of the project, that aims to enhance social inclusion in rural areas, with a focus on people in a vulnerable situation and social economy.
The gathering brought together representatives of ESIRA partners from across Europe, including Spain, Italy, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Lithuania, France, and Norway. Each partner presented the progress made and future plans, both within their respective work packages and within their Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs) – the key mechanisms through which ESIRA develops innovative and inclusive solutions for rural areas.
Throughout the Assembly, participants exchanged knowledge and good practices, analysed methodological approaches for working with local communities and vulnerable groups, and planned the next phases of the project. A particularly valuable part of the programme was the opportunity to meet the Norwegian MAP group from the Innlandet region and learn about their work on social inclusion and local capacity-building.
Luca Koltai, Research Director of HÉTFA presented the monitoring process of the social economy initiatives supported by the project. Kinga Tóth, Deputy Research Director of HÉTFA presented the progress made in the work package led by HETFA, focusing on the research of the drivers of rural marginalisation and the opportunities of community-led social economy initiatives for social inclusion. The Regional Reports that summarise the research carried out under the work package are now available on the project website. The partnership will work on policy recommendations to support community-led social economy initiatives in the coming period. The first successful policy workshop will be followed by further workshops – follow ESIRA’s social media pages (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X) for the latest news on project events.
