All over the world, rural areas tell us the story of a thousand of years long collaboration between nature and human society. These places embody unique examples of cultural and natural heritage, which not only needs to be safeguarded but also recognized as communities of sustainable development. The RURITAGE project has turned rural areas into laboratories to demonstrate natural and cultural heritage as an engine for regeneration.

Rural areas all over the world are facing chronic economic, social and environmental problems. This is resulting in unemployment, disengagement, depopulation, marginalisation or loss of cultural, biological and landscape diversity. There are numerous examples of good practices showing how Cultural and Natural Heritage can function as an engine for development. The RURITAGE project suggests that the challenges of rural areas can be overturned by utilizing heritage potential.

RURITAGE has been a four-year-long EU-funded research project, initiated in June 2018, which strived to enable rural regeneration through heritage. The aim of the project was to sustainably enhance local heritage for regional and community development. The intention was to regenerate rural areas with the help of the Systemic Innovation Areas (SIA) framework: a tool used to identify unique heritage potential within rural communities. The recognised SIAs are Pilgrimage, Resilience, Sustainable Local Food Production, Integrated Landscape Management, Migration and Art and Festivals.