Join us to our Rural Hacking Workshop

An initiative on how to develop hubs (colivings or coworkings) with a positive impact on rural areas

The central theme of the Rural Hacking Workshop

This year we came up with the proposal to create a Rural Hacking Workshop in Anceu Coliving on 12-16 December 2022. It is an initiative on how to develop hubs (colivings or coworkings) with a positive impact on rural areas.

This workshop is made possible thanks to The European Creative Hubs Network. This peer-led network aims to enhance hubs’ creative, economic and social impact around Europe and neighbouring countries. As focal points for creative professionals and businesses, hubs offer the most effective way to support the growth and development of cultural and creative industries.

On 10-12 OCTOBER, at the BauTopia second edition event in Porto, we were invited to present the projects that Anceu Coliving are developing. The aim of this event was to empower the sectors through knowledge exchange. This is how people in the network learned about one of our dearest projects born in Anceu: Rural Hackers.

Thanks to the European Creative Hubs Network people who voted for our proposal to make this project happen!

Workshop’s description

Rural Hacking is an initiative that aims to revitalise communities in rural areas to overcome the challenges they face: depopulated areas with less and less activity and fewer support networks, rural exodus, and an ageing population. We will focus on developing hubs (colivings or coworkings) that positively impact rural areas.

We will cover these topics:

1. Management

How to build strategies to promote healthy coexistence. We share the Anceu coliving example. Also, we will focus on the hub manager, working on self-development as hybrid creative people.

2. Community building

How to set up dynamics to strengthen the relationships between the community to cover its needs of connection and belonging.

3. Alliances

How to forge networks to create projects your community believes in. At a local level, this means building networks with exciting people to create opportunities for your community to feel inspired by serendipity. We will visit local projects related to culture, nature and gastronomy. At a regional level, we want to bring awareness of how rural areas can create sustainable connections with urban areas. For example, we will showcase Pontevedra city and Espacio Arroelo. At an international level, we will visit Dinamo 10 to develop bonds with ECHN members. Also, we will share examples like Creative week or Creative Habitat.

4. Changemakers

How to create economic, social and environmental impact. We will work on encouraging a harmonious coexistence between the hub community and the environment in which the rural hub is located. The reasons for encouraging this interrelationship are multiple. Promoting positive networking makes it easier for projects with a positive environmental impact to emerge. It allows your community to create bonds with local people. It also gives long-term stability to the hub because the more positive our relationship with the environment is, the more likely the community will want to be part. We will discover examples like Rural Hackers or At home.

5. Long-term collaboration

After the workshop, we will develop Rural Hacking Labs: monthly online meetings where participants acquire skills they can quickly put into practice.

Main Format

We are inspired by hacker culture. The workshop will be practical and flowing. We will use non-formal learning methodologies and will learn by doing and sharing. Before the workshop, we will develop online meetings with the participants to identify their needs for improvements. We will create open-source materials for future hubs to use.