From local experiences to digital solutions, the Bari workshop highlighted how the BIO-DISTRICT APP project is supporting rural development across Italy and Greece. On 26 June 2026, the CIHEAM Bari Campus in Valenzano hosted the cross-border workshop “Bio-Districts and Territorial Development: Experiences, Best Practices and Digital Innovation”. This pivotal event brought together stakeholders and partners from Italy and Greece to drive sustainable rural development through new technologies. The workshop provided a concrete platform for exchanging knowledge on digital tools tailored to territorial development and local governance.
The event showcased success stories demonstrating how digital tools can solve concrete rural challenges. The Val di Vara Bio-District shared its experience with a jointly developed technology solution for the remote monitoring of grazing herds in mountain areas. The Via Amerina e delle Forre Bio-District presented its journey in exploring and adapting ICT products to meet specific organic and territorial needs.
The Greek partners jointly presented Western Greece’s established ecosystem of ICT services, from regional agri-food identity platforms to farmer-facing tools and initiatives linking agri-food with rural tourism and cultural heritage, thus positioning Ancient Olympia as the natural Greek counterpart to the Biodistretto delle Lame.
The Biodistretto delle Lame presented the findings of the Italian territorial needs assessment (D3.1), on which CIHEAM Bari, as Lead Beneficiary, built by presenting matching best ICT practices, thus supporting the discussion and group work of the co-design session where participants worked on identifying common priorities for the two territories.
The concluding session outlined a strategic roadmap for the upcoming project phases in both territories. Workshops will be held shortly with Greek stakeholders and partners to integrate the outcomes achieved by their Italian counterparts. Immediately after the summer break, Living Labs in both countries will begin brainstorming sessions. By the end of the year, a joint cross-border co-design workshop will gather stakeholders, partners and experts from Italy and Greece to find common solutions and fine-tune them together.
The event highlighted the power of cross-border cooperation: bringing practical and accessible digital innovation straight to the service of local communities and biodistricts.
