Newcomers can be key drivers of rural revitalisation, addressing some of the common challenges facing rural territories, reversing population decline, addressing labour shortages and building more resilient communities.

In recent years, rural and smaller communities in the EU have emerged as important partners and actors in the integration of refugees and migrants, as they can offer specific integration opportunities. They have thus become testing grounds for new practices and approaches to integration.

As part of the transnational peer-to-peer learning and exchange activities of the Share SIRA project, ICMC Europe/Share network, IOM Spain and Cepaim are co-organising a Look & Learn visit in Sigüenza, Guadalajara (Spain).

This two-day event, which will take place from 7 to 9 June 2022, will bring together local and regional authorities, civil society and practitioners from different European countries (France, Spain, Belgium and Poland) to exchange lessons learned and good practices on the reception and integration of newcomers in rural areas.

The visit will combine a guided tour of local practices and a conference offering the opportunity to address the challenges for the social and labour inclusion of migrants in rural areas, examine the replicability and scalability of inclusive and participatory approaches to integration, and explore the opportunities that migration brings to rural revitalisation.