The theme of this year's Rural Inspiration Awards (RIA) 2022 was 'The Future is Youth' inspired jointly by 2022 being the European Year of Youth, the long-term vision for rural areas, and the Rural Pact. RIA 2022 seeks to promote the importance of European youth to build a better future – greener, resilient, more socially inclusive, innovative, and digital. 

In this edition, 111 entries from 24 Member States were received for the four thematic categories: Green Futures, Digital Futures, Resilient Futures, and Socially Inclusive & Innovative Futures. The jury nominated a winner per thematic category and 7400 people from all around Europe decided the winner of the Popular Vote on Youth through online voting.

Let’s go off to explore the winning projects, as we aim to introduce them to you through our next newsletters.