Saxony-Anhalt awards the best villages: Gold for innovative communities!

Saxony-Anhalt awards the best villages: Gold for innovative communities!

A major highlight of rural development recently took place at the 30th State Harvest Festival in Saxony-Anhalt. 14 villages were honored as part of the 12th state competition “Our Village has a Future”. Agriculture Minister Sven Schulze presented the honorary awards and was impressed by the diversity and innovation of the concepts submitted. A total of 124 locations took part in the competition, from which the most outstanding 14 villages received awards. This development aims to create sustainable and future-proof prospects for rural life and is part of initiatives to strengthen rural communities.

Three villages received the gold award and thus a bonus of 3,500 euros each: Westdorf, Spora with the districts of Nißma, Oelsen and Prehlitz-Penkwitz and Dessau from the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel. Silver awards went to Hedersleben, Mehringen, Nauendorf, Görzig and Reichardtswerben, who were recognized for their special contributions to village development. Rottmersleben, Zens and Radis, who also impressed with their innovative approaches, received bronze awards with prize money of 1,250 euros. These competitions show that rural development is not just a buzzword, but comes to life through real commitment, which is also illustrated by mwl.sachsen-anhalt.de.

Promoting social village development

As part of initiatives to strengthen rural communities, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) supports innovative projects. These projects are part of the federal program for rural development and regional value creation (BULEplus), which can be funded with up to 200,000 euros over a period of 30 months. Dr. Ophelia Nick, Parliamentary State Secretary, particularly emphasizes the need to improve living conditions in rural areas and strengthen social cohesion. This realization comes at a time when demographic challenges, changing family structures and declining infrastructure are straining many rural communities.

The current funding call for “Social Village Development – ​​Strong Communities for Sustainable Rural Areas” aims to promote personal responsibility and citizen participation. Citizens are invited to contribute their ideas in order to actively shape the social and economic development of their villages. In this context, particular emphasis is placed on the creation of social meeting places and support for older people. These initiatives are a step towards ensuring that each individual takes responsibility for living together in the village. Detailed information on this can be found at [bmleh.de](https://www.bmleh.de/SharedDocs/Archiv/Press Releases/2023/102-sociale-dorfentwicklung.html).

Practical implementation and applications

Ambitious projects in social village development are planned for the coming year. Project outlines can be submitted to the Rural Development Competence Center at the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food until November 20, 2023. The best ideas are invited to submit applications in order to enable the implementation of the approaches presented. One focus is on promoting coexistence between generations and strengthening social inclusion. The projects are to be implemented in communities with up to 35,000 inhabitants and thus also offer smaller villages an opportunity to actively participate in development, according to the information provided [ble.de].

The future of rural areas depends on such initiatives. It is up to us to seize these opportunities and actively shape our villages. Let's make the most of these opportunities!