Digital Villages Initiative
Introduction
Digital Villages Initiative – 2023-24 - research, preparation, testing and finalisation of a toolkit to support rural digital transformation. Project was implemented in non-EU countries of SE Europe and Central Asia. Localised testing was carried out in Bosnia, Albania, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Georgia. Outcome was production of a digital transformation toolkit (internal FAO publication) designed to be used with local communities across the FAO Central Asia and Europe region.
Process and activities
The Digital Villages Initiative (DVI) has been developed and established by the UN-FAO as a means to provide rural communities with practical tools to help them navigate digital transformation, to make choices about the digital tools that are of most relevance to their circumstances and to prioritise implementation actions, using a living lab approach.
The project undertaken by Catalys, led by Ian Baker, was the development of a toolkit to support the DVI process. This involved assembling a draft toolkit and field testing its components with rural communities in diverse locations across South East Europe and Central Asia. Field testing included demonstration of innovative digital technologies, including remote sensing, digital collaborative tools and community visioning. The field testing was significant in shaping the final form of the toolkit, which featured simplified descriptions of how to implement each tool, together with worked examples. The diagrram below shows the DVI process in overview.
Outcome
The finalised 88 page toolkit includes 17 individual tools, a general guidance section and 8 worked examples. The image below shows one of the field testsing sessions, together with a demonstration of digital greenhouse technology, in Kaknj, Bosnia.
Image shows Georgian rural community in Maradisi, developing a community vision for digital transformation.
